lEIK. 


NATIONAL  PARKS 


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PRINCIPAL  RAILROAD   CONNECTIONS 


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A  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S 
NATIONAL  PARKS 


(From  an  Autochrome  taken  bv  the  Author) 


Early  Morning  at 
Going-to-the-Sun  Chalet 


A  Tour  of  America's 
National  Parks 


BY 

HENRY  OTTRIDGE  REIK 
I/r.-CoL.  MEDICAL  RESERVE  CORPS,  UNITED  STATES  ABMT 


With  Illustrations  from  Photographs 


NEW  YORK 

E.  P.  BUTTON  &  CO. 

681  FIFTH  AVENUE 


LANDSCAPE 
ARCHITECTURE 


Copyright  1920 
By  E.  P.  Button  &  Company 

All  Rights  Reserved 


Printed  in  the  United 
States  of  America 


LANDSCAPE 
ARCH. 

UB, 


Dedicated  to 

STEPHEN  T.  MATHER 

HORACE  M.  ALBRIGHT 

ROBERT  S.  YARD 

Who, 

Under  instructions  from  the 
HON.  FRANKLIN  K.  LANE, 

Secretary  of  the  Interior, 

Are  striving  to  make  American  Scenery 

available  to  the  People 


fi*860t««  by 
Wtltor  C.  QlHfortf 


PREFACE 

THE  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  attract  a 
more  wide-spread  attention  to  the  won 
derful  natural  beauty  of  our  own  country;  to 
point  out  the  possibilities  of  a  "Grand  Tour," 
here  at  home,  that  shall  embrace  more  of  scenic 
beauty  and  more  marvelous  natural  phenom 
ena  than  was  ever  included  in  a  "Grand  Tour 
of  Europe";  to  make  clear  to  those  who  have 
but  a  limited  vacation  period  what  is  to  be  seen 
in  the  different  Parks,  and  how  best  to  see  it. 
It  is  not  a  Guide  Book  in  the  ordinary  sense, 
yet  it  is  intended  to  serve  as  such;  for  it  not 
only  indicates  the  proper  procedure  for  making 
the  "Grand  Tour,"  but  presents  specific  in 
formation  about  the  most  important  things  to 
see  and  the  order  in  which  they  should  be  seen 
in  each  individual  Park. 

The  United  States  of  America  possesses  the 
most  remarkable  series  of  public  play-grounds 
in  all  the  world.  These,  the  so-called  National 


Parks,  are  maintained  "For  The  Benefit  And 
Enjoyment  Of  The  People."  No  two  of  these 
parks  are  alike.  They  are  not  comparable. 
In  fact,  they  scarcely  resemble  one  another 
at  all.  Each  is  possessed  of  some  character 
istic  feature  that  makes  it  individually  worth 
seeing.  Every  citizen  should  become  inti 
mately  acquainted  with  as  many  of  them  as  his 
time  and  purse  will  permit  and  every  one  may 
feel  well  assured  in  advance  that  he  will  be 
fully  repaid  for  the  labor  and  expense  involved 
in  visiting  either  of  these  Parks. 

HENRY  O.  REIK. 


CONTENTS 

POEM:     Out  Among  the  Big  Things. 
Chapter 

I.  PLANS  FOR  THE  GRAND  TOUR  OF  OUR  NATIONAL 
PARKS. 

II.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  NATIONAL  PARK;  IN 
CLUDING  ESTES  PARK  AND  THE  PARKS  IN  AND 
ABOUT  DENVER. 

III.  MESA  VERDE  NATIONAL  PARK;  HOME  OF  THE 
CLIFF  DWELLERS. 

IV.  THE  GRAND  CANYON  OF  ARIZONA;  WITH  INCI 
DENTAL  VISITS  TO  THE  OLD  INDIAN  PUEBLOS 
OF  NEW  MEXICO  AND  THE  PETRIFIED  FOREST. 

V.  SEQUOIA  NATIONAL  PARK;  THE  PROSPECTS  OF  A 
NEW  PARK  THAT  SHALL  EXCEL  SOME  OF  THE 
BEST  Now  DEVELOPED. 

VI.  YOSEMITE  VALLEY;  THE  REGION  OF  WORLD- 
FAMED  BEAUTY. 

VII.  CRATER  LAKE  NATIONAL  PARK;  AN  EXTRAORDI 
NARY  LAKE  OCCUPYING  THE  CRATER  OF  AN 
EXTINCT  VOLCANO  AND  WHOSE  WATER  Is  OF 
AN  UNBELIEVABLE  BLUE. 

yill.     MT.   RAINIER   NATIONAL   PARK.     "THE   MOUN 
TAIN  THAT  WAS  GOD." 


CONTENTS 

IX.  GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK.  RUGGED  MOUNTAIN 
SCENERY  OF  ALPINE  CHARACTER,  WITH  IN 
NUMERABLE  ACTIVE  GLACIERS. 

X.  YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK.  A  VERITABLE 
FAIRYLAND.  MORE  GEYSERS  THAN  IN  ALL 
THE  REST  OF  THE  WORLD  TOGETHER  J  BESIDE 
MANY  OTHER  CURIOUS  AND  WEIRD  PHE 
NOMENA  PRODUCED  BY  SUBTERRANEAN  HEAT. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

EARLY  MORNING  AT  GOING-TO-THE-SUN  CHALET. 

Frontispiece  in  Colors 

Facing  Page 

MlNNEHAHA    OF    THE    AsPENS,    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN 

NATIONAL  PARK 22 

LOCH  VALE,  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  NATIONAL  PARK  .         30 

CLIFF    PALACE,    THE    LARGEST    OF    THE    CLIFF 

DWELLINGS  IN  MESA  VERDE  NATIONAL  PARK  .         42 

SPRUCE   TREE    HOUSE,   MESA   VERDE    NATIONAL 

PARK 50 

GRAND  CANYON  FROM  MOJAVE  POINT      ....         56 

ADOBE     HOUSES    IN    THE     INDIAN     PUEBLO    OF 

TESUQUE,  NEW  MEXICO 68 

HOPI  INDIANS  DECORATING  POTTERY      ....         62 
VIEW  OF  CANYON  AND  RIVER 66 

"WAWONA,"  THE  TUNNELED  GIANT  REDWOOD  OF 

THE  YOSEMITE 74 

EL  CAPITAN  AND  THE  MERCED  RIVER,  YOSEMITE 

VALLEY 82 

BRIDAL  VEIL  FALLS,  YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK    .         90 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

EL  CAPITAN  IN  WINTER 98 

VERNAL  FALLS,  YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK  .     .     .  100 

THE   PHANTOM  SHIP,   CRATER   LAKE   NATIONAL 

PARK 110 

CRATER  LAKE  TROUT »     «     .     .  114 

THROUGH  THE  FIR  FOREST  TO  MT.  RAINIER  NA 
TIONAL  PARK 122 

GLACIAL  CREEK,  MT.  RAINIER  NATIONAL  PARK   ,  130 

AFLOAT  ON  TWO-MEDICINE  LAKE,  GLACIER  NA 
TIONAL  PARK 146 

ON  THE  TRAIL,  GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK    ...  154 

HYMEN  TERRACE,  MAMMOTH  HOT  SPRINGS,  YEL 
LOWSTONE  PARK 162 

OLD  FAITHFUL  GEYSER 186 

BLACK  AND  BROWN  BEARS  IN  YELLOWSTONE  PARK  194 

GRAND  CANYON  AND  GREAT  FALLS  OF  THE  YEL 
LOWSTONE  .  202 


A  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S 
NATIONAL  PARKS 


INTRODUCTION 

BEFORE  the  world  war,  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  Americans  not  only  knew 
all  about  the  Grand  Tour  of  Europe,  but  were 
more  or  less  thoroughly  acquainted  with  par 
ticular  foreign  countries,  even  to  remote  sec 
tions  possessing  scenic,  historic,  or  other  points 
of  interest.  On  the  other  hand,  the  scenic  and 
historic  places  in  the  United  States  were 
known  only  to  comparatively  few  travelers  of 
the  country  at  large  and  to  residents  of  the 
communities  immediately  adjacent  to  them.  It 
was  with  profound  surprise,  therefore,  that 
when  war  closed  Europe  to  American  tourists, 
they,  in  looking  about  for  places  to  visit  on  this 
continent,  found  in  the  western  mountain 
ranges  a  chain  of  national  parks  set  apart  by 
Congress  to  be  maintained  forever  in  their 
natural  state  for  the  benefit  and  pleasure  of 
the  people. 


2       TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

They  had  heard  perhaps  of  Yellowstone  and 
Yosemite  Parks,  but  these  places  were  rather 
more  associated  with  geysers,  enormous  water 
falls,  and  other  remarkable  phenomena  to  be 
hurriedly  glimpsed  as  they  might  look  at  the 
Woolworth  Building  in  New  York  than  with 
the  idea  of  great  national  playgrounds,  estab 
lished  and  maintained  as  a  part  of  a  system 
which  is  to  furnish  recreational,  educational, 
and  health  restoring  advantages  for  us  and 
for  generations  yet  to  come.  Even  the  Yel 
lowstone  and  Yosemite  were  visited  each  year 
by  a  mere  handful  of  people,  most  of  whom 
lived  in  the  States  in  which  the  parks  are 
located  or  in  neighboring  States. 

The  process  of  introspection  which  Ameri 
cans  were  forced  to  use  in  planning  their  va 
cations  in  1915  and  1916,  aided  by  unceasing 
publicity  work  by  the  Department  of  the  In 
terior  and  by  the  transcontinental  railroads, 
developed  in  the  public  consciousness  a  pretty 
complete  realization  of  what  the  national  park 


INTRODUCTION  8 

system  was.  In  those  two  years  travel  to  the 
parks  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  even 
during  our  participation  in  the  war  the  parks 
were  visited  each  year  by  200,000  more  people 
than  toured  them  in  1914.  This  year  there  is 
every  prospect  that  national  park  travel  will 
break  all  previous  records  by  a  very  great 
margin.1 

The  national  park  system  is  frequently 
called  "The  Incomparable  Circle."  This  is  be 
cause  the  largest  of  the  scenic  parks  are  so 
situated  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  Sierra 
Nevadas,  and  Cascades  that  they  form  points 
on  an  imaginary  circumference  with  Salt 
Lake  City  approximately  the  center  of  the 
circle.  The  parks  in  this  chain  alone  form 
the  greatest  and  most  remarkable  group  of 
natural  wonders  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  as 
well  as  the  most  beautiful  and  varied  scenery 
the  world  affords. 

i  Since  this  foreword  was  written  the  travel  records  for 
1919  have  been  compiled.  They  show  that  755,325  people 
visited  the  parks  during  the  tourist  season,  while  the  travel 
m  1918  totaled  451,691. 


4   TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

The  distinctiveness  of  the  national  parks  is 
worthy  of  especial  comment.  There  is  no 
place  in  this  or  in  any  other  country  where 
there  are  so  many  geysers,  hot  springs,  and 
other  manifestations  of  the  action  of  subter 
ranean  heat  on  the  earth's  surface  as  in  Yel 
lowstone  National  Park,  and  yet  these  features 
are  only  a  few  of  scores  of  remarkable  works 
of  nature  in  this  one  reservation.  In  the  entire 
world,  there  is  no  other  valley  so  beautiful  as 
the  Yosemite,  with  its  waterfalls,  its  domes, 
its  spires,  and  its  towers,  and  yet  it  has  a  back 
country  with  mountain  scenery  that  is  second 
to  none. 

The  Grand  Canyon  National  Park  contains 
the  gorge  that  represents  nature's  greatest 
work  of  water  erosion.  It  is  thirteen  miles 
across  this  yawning  chasm  and  it  is  a  mile 
deep.  Its  wonders  and  its  gripping  charms 
have  defied  description  in  written  or  spoken 
words  and  even  the  painter  and  photographer 
have  failed  to  give  those  who  have  not  beheld 


JNTKODUCTiON  5 

this  stupendous  spectacle  even  a  remote  con 
ception  of  what  it  really  is. 

In  Sequoia  and  General  Grant  National 
Parks  the  giant  sequoia  grows — oldest  and 
largest  of  living  things.  Sequoia  National 
Park  also  has  high  scenic  regions  of  such 
magnificence  that  Congress  is  considering  the 
advisability  of  adding  certain  other  mountain 
territory,  including  Mt.  Whitney,  the  highest 
point  in  the  United  States,  and  dedicating  this 
enlarged  park  as  a  great  memorial  to  the  late 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  giving  to  it  his  name. 

Oregon's  representative  in  the  park  system 
is  Crater  Lake  and  the  surrounding  moun 
tainous  region.  Crater  Lake  is  situated  in 
the  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano.  Its  surface 
is  1000  feet  below  the  rim  and  its  blue  color 
has  no  equal  in  the  waters  of  the  earth,  and, 
it  is  a  spectacle  of  sublimity  that  holds  one 
spellbound. 

Mount  Rainier,  in  Washington,  has  the 
largest  single  peak  glacier  system  of  which 
we  have  record.  The  reservation  is  also  known 


6      TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

as  the  "Wild  Flower  Park"  because  between 
the  great  glaciers  wild  flowers  grow  in  such 
profusion  that  they  alone  are  sufficient  to  lure 
and  hold  the  interest  of  the  visitor. 

Glacier  and  Rocky  Mountain  National 
Parks  sit  astride  the  Rockies  and  exhibit  the 
most  remarkable  evidences  of  glaciation  that 
has  carved  the  mountains  into  scenery  than 
which  there  is  no  more  sublime  and  thrilling 
on  the  globe.  In  the  former  the  glaciers  have 
performed  their  sculpturing  in  ancient  sedi 
mentary  rocks  thrust  up  and  over  on  the  plains 
by  some  tremendous  cataclysm  within  the 
earth;  while  in  Rocky  Mountain  Park  the  ice 
has  carved  in  solid  granite.  Hence  these 
parks,  while  somewhat  similarly  formed,  are 
vastly  different  in  the  character  of  scenery 
they  exhibit. 

The  remaining  member  of  this  park  chain 
is  Mesa  Verde,  where  the  largest  and  best  pre 
served  of  all  the  cliff  dwellings  are  to  be  found. 
This  is  the  land  of  romance  and  charm  that 
grips  your  very  soul  and  you  leave  it  with 


INTRODUCTION  7 

greater  reluctance  than  you  feel  when  depart 
ing  from  any  other  park. 

This  is  "The  Incomparable  Circle"  that 
Colonel  Reik  knows  and  loves.  He  was  one 
of  the  first  Americans  to  see  it  in  its  larger 
aspects  and  to  comprehend  it  in  its  full  impor 
tance  to  the  Nation  of  today  and  tomorrow. 
He  has  ridden  over  the  automobile  roads  of 
the  parks  and  he  has  tramped  their  trails.  He 
knows  the  beauties  of  the  remote  places  as 
well  as  those  that  are  easily  accessible.  He 
has  photographed  the  parks,  using  natural 
color  processes  with  unusual  success,  and  with 
his  remarkable  pictures  he  has  in  lectures  end 
personal  conversation  sought  to  arouse  his 
friends  and  fellow  citizens  to  a  full  apprecia 
tion  of  these  great  American  playgrounds. 

Now,  Colonel  Reik  has  written  this  book  of 
his  travels,  thus  broadening  his  field  of  public 
service.  He  has  carefully  prepared  this  vol 
ume  with  the  idea  not  only  of  describing  his 
own  experiences  but  for  the  purpose  of  telling 
others  how  they  may  go  and  see  and  enjoy 


8       TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

what  he  has  seen  and  enjoyed  not  once  but 
several  times — the  same  things  that  he  will  go 
back  to  until  the  end  of  his  days  because  none 
is  more  devoted  to  the  national  parks  and  the 
mountains  than  is  the  author  of  this  work. 
May  all  who  read  this  book,  imbibe  his  love 
of  country  as  related  to  the  big  things  of 
nature,  and  his  enthusiasm  for  the  out-of- 
doors. 

HORACE  M.  ALBRIGHT, 
Assistant  Director,  National  Park  Service. 
Department  of  the  Interior, 
Washington,  D.  C., 
June  30,  1919. 


INTRODUCTION 
OUT  AMONG  THE  BIG  THINGS 

Out  among  the  big  things — 

The   mountains   and   the   plains — 
An  hour  ain't  important. 

Nor   are    the   hour's   gains; 
The  feller  in  the  city 

Is  hurried  night  and  day, 
But  out  among  the  big  things 

He  learns  the  calmer  way. 

Out  among  the  big  things — 

The  skies  that  never  end — 
To  lose  a  day  ain't  nothing 

The  days  are  here  to  spend; 
So  why  not  give  'em  freely, 

En  joy  in'  as  we  go? 
I  somehow  can't  help  thinking 

The  good  Lord  means  life  so. 


Out  among  the  big  thingi 

The  heights  that  gleam  afar — 
A  feller  gets  to  wonder 

What  means  each  distant  star; 
He  may  not  get  an  answer, 

But  somehow,  every  night 
He  feels,  among  the  big  things, 

That  everything's  all  right. 

ARTHUR  CHAPMAN. 


A  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL 
PARKS 

INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER 

THERE  is  nothing  so  instructive  in  an 
educational  way,  nothing  so  beneficial 
to  health  and  so  helpful  in  attaining  a  true 
perspective  regarding  one's  own  place  in  the 
universe,  as  the  effect  of  travel  if  one  pos 
sesses  ordinarily  good  powers  of  observation. 
It  is  not  long  since  the  "Grand  Tour  of 
Europe"  was  habitually  spoken  of  as  an  essen 
tial  element  in  the  education  of  a  cultured 
person.  While  that  will  always  remain  a  de 
sirable  voyage,  there  had  already  arisen,  even 
before  the  advent  of  the  great  World  War, 
a  cry  in  favor  of  "Seeing  America  First." 
Without  underestimating  the  value  or  the 
pleasure  of  European  travel,  and  without 
urging  strongly  the  seeing  of  any  particular 

11 


12     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

country  or  place  "first,"  it  would  seem  but 
natural  that  the  vast  majority  of  Americans 
might  be  expected  to  become  more  familiar 
with  their  own  country  than  they  now  are. 
If  you  should  be  fortunate  enough  to  plan  a 
definite  trip  around  the  world,  then,  perhaps, 
you  should  begin  with  your  own  country,  but, 
do  not  forego  a  special  opportunity  to  visit 
any  country  simply  because  you  have  not  yet 
seen  America.  It  is  a  good  rule  to  travel 
wherever  and  whenever  you  can.  However, 
at  some  time  or  other,  first  or  last,  as  one 
grand  tour  or  as  the  result  of  many  small 
trips,  every  true  American  should  manage 
to  pay  his  respects  to  the  marvelous  natural 
scenery  of  this  continent. 

Within  the  domain  of  the  United  States 
there  exists  some  of  the  finest  Alpine  moun 
tain  scenery,  some  of  the  most  beautiful  lakes 
and  woodland  country,  and  some  of  the  most 
remarkable  natural  phenomena  that  may  be 
observed  anywhere  in  the  world.  For  instance, 
in  Yellowstone  National  Park  are  to  be  found 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  13 

more  Geysers  than  in  all  the  rest  of  the  world 
together  and,  incidentally,  the  finest  specimen 
of  a  geyser — Old  Faithful — a  typical  demon 
stration  of  the  Bunsen  theory,  has  been  per 
forming  with  the  regularity  of  clock-work  for 
countless  centuries.     Sequoia  National  Park 
contains  the  largest  forest  of  the  greatest  trees 
in  the  world;  12,000  Giant  Redwoods,  each 
more  than  10  feet  in  diameter;  many  more 
than  30  feet  in  diameter,  100  feet  in  circum 
ference,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  300  feet 
in  height ;  the  oldest  living  things  in  existence. 
Mt.  Rainier  National  Park  has  the  largest 
accessible  single-peak  glacial  system;  28  dif 
ferent  glaciers  radiating  from  the  summit  over 
its  broad  slopes,  the  latter  being  punctuated  by 
acre  upon  acre  of  wonderful  wild  flowers. 
Mesa  Verde  National  Park  embraces  the  most 
notable  and  best  preserved  prehistoric  Cliff 
Dwellings  known  to  man.     Similar  specifica 
tions  might  be  given  for  each  of  the  entire 
list  of  parks. 

By  a  wise  provision  of  our  Government, 


14    TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

selected  portions  of  the  most  curious  and  inter 
esting  bits  of  our  natural  scenery  have  been 
set  aside  in  the  form  of  Public  Parks,  to  be 
held  inviolate  for  all  time  "For  the  Benefit 
and  Enjoyment  of  the  People."  When,  in 
1872,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
enacted  a  Law  establishing  the  Yellowstone 
National  Park,  a  precedent  was  set  which  has 
since  been  adopted  by  several  other  Nations, 
and  which  has  developed  into  a  policy  that 
gives  us  today  a  large  series  of  these  play 
grounds.  Each  year  they  are  becoming  more 
popular,  and  increasing  thousands  are  availing 
themselves  of  the  privilege,  not  only  of  visit 
ing  them  to  observe  and  study  their  curious 
features,  but  of  camping  out,  fishing  and 
enjoying  the  beneficial  -results  of  "Getting 
Back  to  Nature." 

Now  it  happens  that  the  principal  members 
of  our  group  of  National  Parks  are  so  located 
that  they  may  be  included  in  a  circular  tour 
of  the  country  and,  while  describing  each 
park  separately,  it  seems  worth  while  to  sug- 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  15 

gest  their  combination  in  the  form  of  a  "Grand 
Tour  of  Our  National  Parks."  It  is  possible 
to  procure  a  round-trip  ticket  from  any  point, 
permitting  a  visit  to  each  of  the  nine  large 
parks,  and  enabling  the  traveler  to  cover  the 
course  comfortably  within  the  period  of  two 
months.  It  goes  without  saying  that  a  much, 
longer  time  might  be  profitably  devoted  to 
the  journey;  but  the  fact  that  it  can  be  ac 
complished  in  so  short  a  time  will  be  new  to 
many  people,  and  may  make  it  possible  for 
some  who  have  but  limited  opportunity  to 
travel  to  take  the  trip  and  enjoy  most  of  the 
benefits. 

GENERAL  PLAN  OF  TOUR 

Starting  from  New  York,  or  any  other 
eastern  point,  by  that  trunk-line  railroad  which 
will  most  conveniently  furnish  transportation 
to  Denver,  the  route  of  the  excursion  ticket 
thence  would  be  as  follows : 
Denver  to  Santa  Fe,  N.  M.,  via  Denver  and 

Rio  Grande  R.  R. 


16     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

Santa  Fe  to   San  Francisco,   via  Atchison, 

Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  R.  R. 
San  Francisco  to  Seattle,  via  Southern  Pacific 

R.  R. 
Seattle  to  Great  Falls,  Montana,  via  Great 

Northern  R.  R. 
Great  Falls  to  Gardiner,  Montana,  via  N"orth- 

ern  Pacific  R.  R. 
Yellowstone  Park  Transportation  Co.  through 

the  Park  to  Cody,  Wyoming. 
Cody  to  Denver,  via  the  Burlington  Route. 

With  stop-over  privileges  and  the  addition 
of  a  few  short  side  trips  this  will  permit  visit 
ing  the  parks  in  the  following  manner: 

First  on  the  list  is  the  new  Rocky  Mountain 
National;  to  be  taken  as  a  side  trip  from 
Denver,  over  the  Colorado  and  Southern  rail 
road  to  Loveland,  Colorado.  The  city  of 
Denver  itself  is  very  attractive,  having  an 
excellent  system  of  local  parks,  and  it  is  worthy 
of  mention  at  this  point  that  there  are  along 
the  route  of  this  circular  tour  many  other  inter 
esting  things  to  be  seen  beside  those  included 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  17 

in  the  parks.  For  instance,  in  Colorado  the 
journey  may  be  arrested  at  Colorado  Springs 
for  a  visit  to  the  Garden  of  the  Gods,  Pike's 
Peak  and  Manitou  Springs. 

Mesa  Verde  National  Park,  also  in  the 
State  of  Colorado,  is  reached  by  using  the  main 
ticket  as  far  as  Alamosa,  Colorado,  and  then 
purchasing  a  side-trip  ticket  to  Mancos  and 
return.  The  railroads  are  very  liberal  in  pro 
viding  choice  of  routes  and  stop-over  privi 
leges.  If,  when  having  the  ticket  made  up, 
attention  is  called  to  it,  the  side  trip  to  Love- 
land,  referred  to  above,  is  provided  without 
extra  cost;  and,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  pos 
sible  to  make  a  choice  of  routes  to  Alamosa, 
so  that  Mancos  shall  be  included  in  the  original 
ticket,  together  with  the  privilege  of  going 
through  the  Royal  Gorge. 

Resuming  the  trip  at  Alamosa,  you  continue 
to  Santa  Fe,  the  oldest  established  town  in 
the  United  States,  and  in  this  vicinity  the 
opportunity  is  afforded  to  visit  some  interest 
ing  Indian  villages.  At  this  point  change  is 


18     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

made  to  the  Santa  Fe  railway  system,  along 
the  course  of  which  the  first  important  attrac 
tion  presented  is  the  Petrified  Forest  of  Ari 
zona.  An  automobile  ride  of  one  hour  takes 
you  direct  to  the  largest  field  of  the  largest  and 
most  perfect  specimens  of  petrified  wood  any 
where  on  this  globe.  Another  side-trip,  from 
Williams,  Arizona,  takes  you  to  the  most  won 
derful  of  all  the  World's  Wonders — the 
Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado  River. 

En  route  from  Williams  to  San  Francisco, 
stops  may  be  made  at  Visalia,  California,  for 
entrance  to  the  Sequoia  National  Park,  and, 
at  Merced,  California,  for  the  Yosemite  Val 
ley.  Between  San  Francisco  and  Portland, 
Oregon,  stop-over  is  made  at  Medford  to  per 
mit  another  side-trip  by  automobile  to  Crater 
Lake  National  Park,  and,  proceeding  north 
ward,  Mt.  Rainier  National  Park  is  but  a  short 
ride  by  train  or  automobile  from  either 
Tacoma  or  Seattle. 

Turning  homeward  now,  Glacier  National 
Park  and  the  Yellowstone  are  visited,  in  turn, 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  19 

and  the  circle  completed  at  Denver,  near  the 
eastern  exit  from  the  latter  park. 

The  accompanying  diagram  shows  in 
schematic  form  the  location  of  each  of  the 
parks  and  the  railroad  points  from  which  they 
are  best  reached.  Of  course,  it  is  equally  pos 
sible  to  take  the  trip  in  reverse  order,  or,  to 
eliminate  any  park  that  does  not  appeal  to  the 
individual,  and  to  vary  the  time  at  each  place 
to  suit  the  personal  taste. 

L_  »,:-*»_ 

The  cost  of  traveling  and  living  within  the 
parks  is  under  Government  regulation,  and 
each  season  pamphlets  are  issued  (secured  by 
addressing  the  Director  of  the  National  Parks 
Service,  Department  of  the  Interior,  Wash 
ington,  D.  C.),  setting  forth  the  specific 
charges  for  every  kind  of  service  in  each  park; 
so  that  you  may  determine  in  advance  just  how 
you  will  live  and  at  exactly  what  cost. 

All  of  the  parks  are  now  open  to  automo 
biles  and  the  roads  are  reasonably  good  in  all 
of  them.  There  has  been  a  very  rapid  growth 
in  the  number  of  private  machines  entering 


20     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

the  parks  during  the  past  three  years  and  many 
have  enjoyed  the  delightful  experience  of 
crossing  the  continent  in  a  private  car  and 
visiting  some  of  the  parks  en  route. 


CHAPTER   II 

ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  NATIONAL 
PARK 

"Into  the  wilderness,  come! 
Here  where  the  wild  bees  hum. 

The  aspen  leaves  quiver, 

Now  darkly,  now  bright, 

The  willow-dim  river 

Sings  loud  with  delight, 
Birds  are  a-singing  and  voices  are  dumb — 
Into  the  wilderness,  come !" 

HERMAN  HAGEDORN. 


1HV  ENVER  is  appropriately  called  the 
-*^  "Gateway  to  "the  National  Parks"  and 
that  term  is  especially  applicable  to  this  plan 
for  a  grand  tour  of  all  our  parks.  As  already 
set  forth,  the  circular  portion  of  that  tour  starts 
from  this  city.  Denver  is,  literally,  the  central 
gate  or  doorway  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
its  interest  in  the  subject  of  parks  in  general  is 
well  attested  by  the  number  of  local  parks 

21 


22     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

established  by  the  City  Government.  It  is  an 
unusually  attractive  city,  enjoying  a  delight 
ful  climate,  because  of  its  advantageous  loca 
tion  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Rockies,  with 
an  altitude  of  5000  feet,  and  with  homes  that 
have  evidently  been  planned  to  secure  to  the 
inhabitants  the  greatest  amount  of  benefit 
from  the  glorious  sunshine  and  pure  air.  The 
claim  is  made  that  it  has  300  sun-shiny  days 
in  the  year.  The  dwellings,  ranging  from  the 
small  bungalow  type  to  the  most  palatial  resi 
dences,  are  practically  all  built  singly,  with 
lawns  and  gardens  surrounding  them.  Flow 
ers  grow  almost  as  abundantly  and  quite 
as  perfectly  as  in  many  more  tropical 
regions,  and  as  the  land  has  a  gently  rolling 
character,  the  adopted  style  of  architecture 
and  of  floral  decoration  tends  to  make  a  city 
beautiful. 

There  are  four  large  public  parks  within 
the  city  limits.  Largest  of  these,  the  City 
Park  contains  a  Zoological  Garden  with  an 
interesting  collection  of  animals,  a  municipal 


Photo  by  Wiswall  Bros.     Reproduced  by  courtesy  of 
tlte  National  Park  Senice. 

MINNEHAHA  OF  THE  ASPENS.     ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  NATIONAL  PARK 


ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  NATIONAL  PARK     23 

golf  links,  a  conservatory,  and  two  small  lakes 
on  which  boating  is  possible. 

An  electric  fountain,  with  kaleidoscopic 
color  displays,  has  been  constructed  here  espe 
cially  to  entertain  Denver's  citizens  and  guests 
at  night,  while  they  listen  to  the  Municipal 
Band  concerts  which  are  given  every  evening 
and  on  Saturday  and  Sunday  afternoons. 
Here  too  is  found  a  very  interesting  Museum 
containing  a  remarkable  collection  of  the  wild 
animals  of  the  western  states,  mounted  arid 
grouped  as  nearly  as  possible  in  accordance 
with  our  knowledge  of  their  natural  conditions. 
Washington  and  Berkely  Parks,  in  other  parts 
of  the  city,  are  attractive  mainly  because  of 
their  public  bathing  facilities,  playgrounds  and 
tennis  courts.  Cheesman  Park  is  a  small  one 
on  the  western  border  of  the  city,  affording  a 
commanding  view  of  the  principal  peaks  of  the 
Colorado  Rockies,  from  Long's  Peak  on  the 
north  to  Pike's  Peak  on  the  south.  Crowds  of 
people  congregate  there  nearly  every  evening, 
in  and  about  the  Cheesman  Memorial  Build- 


24     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

ing,  to  witness  the  sun-set,  with  its  effective 
cloud  coloring  over  the  mountain  ranges. 

Not  content,  however,  with  such  a  series  of 
local  parks,  Denver  has  adopted  a  unique 
scheme  in  the  construction  of  a  boulevard  to 
Lookout  and  Genesee  mountains,  both  located 
in  neighboring  counties,  and  the  maintenance 
of  large  parks  in  these  favored  places;  drive 
ways  and  sites  that  afford  marvelous  views  of 
the  surrounding  mountains  and  plains.  Many 
interesting  day  trips  into  the  country  adjacent 
to  Denver,  by  automobile  or  street  car,  are 
advertised  to  the  tourist  and  all  of  them  are 
worth  taking  if  time  can  be  spared  for  that 
purpose.  In  consequence  of  all  this  interest 
in  out-of-door  life,  Denver  is  not  only  a  neces 
sary  and  appropriate  place  from  which  to  start 
on  the  park  tour,  but  a  city  in  sympathy  with 
your  desires  and  objects. 

In  selecting  a  route  to  the  Rocky  Mountain 
National  Park  (still  locally  spoken  of  as  Estes 
Park)  you  may  choose  between  an  automobile 
trip  the  entire  distance  and  a  combined  auto- 


ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  NATIONAL  PARK     25 

mobile  and  railroad  journey  over  either  of 
several  different  courses.     For  instance,  train 
may  be  taken  to  Longmont  or  Lyons ;  to  Love- 
land,  a  few  miles  further  north;  or,  to  Fort 
Collins,    still    further    northward;    and    the 
journey  from  either  of  these  places  will  be 
completed  by  automobile  stage  to  the  park. 
Of  these  different  routes,  the  Loveland  en 
trance  is  the  most  interesting  because  the  road 
parallels  the  Big  Thompson  river  almost  the 
entire  distance  of  32  miles,  and  for  a  consid 
erable  part  of  this  distance  the  river  traverses 
a  narrow  canyon  with  high  rocky  walls,  in 
many  places  quite  brightly  colored.     It  is  the 
longest  but  decidedly  the  most   picturesque 
route.     All  tickets,  however,  permit  a  choice 
of  these  ways,  and  permit  of  going  in  one  way 
and  out  by  another. 

Arriving  at  the  village  of  Estes  Park,  you 
find  a  small  mountain  town  whose  sole  busi- 
,ness  is  the  entertainment  of  summer  visitors. 
The  rapidly  growing  popularity  of  this  region 
is  attested  by  the  fact  that  the  50,000  visitors 


26     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

of  1916  was  more  than  doubled  in  the  year 
1917,  in  spite  of  the  depressing  effect  of  war 
conditions.  The  situation  of  this  park,  so  near 
to  the  nation's  population  center,  assures  it  a 
popularity  greater  than  can  ever  be  attained 
by  the  more  distant  resorts.  Denver  is  but 
thirty  hours  from  Chicago  and  as  the  Hocky 
Mountain  Park  is  actually  adjacent  to  that 
city  it  is  possible  for  the  visitor  from  the  At 
lantic  coast  region  to  reach  the  park  with  but 
two  and  a  half  days'  journey.  Thus,  this  one 
park  is  brought  within  reach  of  the  traveler 
who  has  but  a  limited  two  weeks'  vacation  and 
enables  him  to  make  the  round  trip  without 
using  up  all  his  time  on  the  railroad. 

From  the  many  good  hotels  in  Estes  the 
principal  points  of  interest  may  easily  be 
reached.  Garages  and  liveries  are  numerous 
in  the  town  and  machines  or  trail  animals  can 
be  obtained  at  reasonable  rates.  Nor  is  there 
any  set  programme  for  seeing  the  sights  of 
this  park.  It  is  mainly  virgin  mountain  coun 
try,  some  of  it  yet  to  be  explored,  a  great  deal 


ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  NATIONAL  PARK     27 

of  it  yet  to  be  made  available  to  tourists  by 
road  or  trail;  all  of  it  offering  attractions  of 
a  most  interesting  character.  There  is  much 
wild  animal  life  in  these  woods  and  the  streams 
abound  in  fish.  Hunting  is  prohibited  in  all 
our  national  parks,  but  the  angler  will  find 
plenty  of  good  sport.  So  numerous  are  the 
inviting  trails,  one  might  spend  an  entire 
season  in  this  park  and  find  something  differ 
ent  to  do  each  day.  But,  if  time  is  limited 
and  it  is  desired  to  secure  a  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  the  district  in  the  shortest  pos 
sible  time,  tjiere  are  three  single -day  trips 
especially  to  be  considered.  These  embrace  a 
trip  to  Loch  Vale,  the  trail  trip  to  Lakes  Fern 
and  Odessa,  and  the  ascent  of  Long's  Peak. 

Loch  Vale  is  about  eleven  and  a  half  miles 
from  Estes  Park,  the  first  six  miles  being  over 
a  good  roadway  and  the  remaining  portion  by 
mountain  trail.  If  you  are  a  good  horseman 
the  round  trip  can  be -covered  comfortably  by 
riding  the  entire  distance.  Should  walking  be 
preferred,  it  is  well  to  engage  automobile  pas- 


28     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

sage  over  the  first  six  miles,  that  is,  as  far  as 
Sprague's  hotel,  and  to  commence  the  tramp 
from  that  point.  The  trail  is  very  good,  rather 
steep  in  places,  and  an  elevation  of  11,000  feet 
is  reached;  the  altitude  of  Estes  Park,  the 
starting  point,  being  7,700  feet.  It  is  a  great 
pity  that  more  people  do  not  "hit  the  trail," 
depending  upon  their  own  means  of  locomo 
tion;  for  it  is  only  by  walking  that  you  may 
reap  the  real  benefits  of  this  sort  of  life.  Not 
only  is  the  exercise  beneficial,  but  it  is  thus 
possible  to  drink  in  so  much  more  of  the  gen 
eral  scenic  beauty  as  you  saunter  along,  and 
there  is  time  to  stop  for  closer  inspection  of 
the  many  interesting  things  that  bob  up,  unj 
common  plants  and  rare  flowers,  vistas  into 
the  woods  or  ravines  that  line  the  way,  and 
for  charming  bits  of  landscape  that  stir  the 
artistic  sense.  The  majority  seem  to  think  the 
horse,  or,  more  often  perhaps,  the  burro  or 
donkey  (sometimes  dubbed  the  "Rocky  Moun 
tain  Canary"  on  account  of  the  resonance  of 
his  voice),  an  indispensable  aid  to  mountain 


ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  NATIONAL  PARK     29 

climbing.  This  is  a  mistake,  from  several 
points  of  view.  A  war  story  that  may  be 
apropos  is  told  of  a  negro  who  was  considering 
entering  the  army,  but  found  it  difficult  to 
decide  between  the  infantry  and  the  cavalry. 
A  friend  was  trying  to  induce  him  to  join  his 
company  in  the  latter  branch  of  the  service, 
though  his  own  predilections  were  for  the  in 
fantry.  In  the  course  of  argument,  the  friend 
declared,  "Rastus,  you  a  fool  nigger,  don'  you 
know  dat  in  de  cavalry  you  gits  a  hoss  to  ride?" 
"Oh,  yass,"  he  replied,  "I  knows  all  'bout  dat. 
Dass  all  right  'bout  ridin'  a  hoss  into  de  battle, 
but  des  'spose  dey  souns  a  ree-treet — man,  sir, 
I  don'  want  no  hoss  to  bother  wid."  Observa-- 
tion  of  the  tender- foot  riders  in  the  mountains 
suggests  that  most  of  them  would  have  been 
happier  without  a  horse  to  bother  with,  and, 
that  they  would  not  have  suffered  half  as  much 
discomfort  from  the  exercise  of  walking  as 
they  did  later  from  the  effects  of  riding. 

From  the  village,  the  road  follows  for  some 
distance  close  beside  the  Big  Thompson  river 


30     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

and  passes  the  camping  grounds  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  Summer  School. 
Then  it  enters  the  valley  between  Wind  river 
and  Glacier  Creek,  running  to  a  point  where 
the  trail  starts  at  a  fork  in  the  latter  stream. 
Following  Glacier  Creek,  the  trail  winds  stead 
ily  on  and  upward  into  Loch  Vale  and  it  would 
be  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  beauties  of  this 
trip ;  scenery  not  to  be  found  elsewhere  nearer 
than  Switzerland.  Wilderness  and  grandeur 
are  the  two  most  prominent  characteristics  of 
the  region.  Here  is  Nature  at  rest.  Here  is 
peace,  tranquility  and  thrilling  beauty,  and  it 
is  difficult  to  believe  there  can  be  strife  and 
turmoil  in  the  world. 

In  like  manner,  the  Fern  and  Odessa  Lake 
trip  may  be  divided  between  driving  and  walk 
ing;  the  highway  affording  a  delightful  drive 
of  five  miles  to  a  point  just  beyond  the  hotel 
Brinwood.  From  this  spot  the  trail  leads,  for 
a  short  way,  through  a  meadow  land  lightly 
wooded  with  Aspens  and  over  ground  covered 
with  bracken.  The  climb  to  Fern  Lake,  about 


Photo  by  WiswaU  Bros.     Reproduced  by  courtesy 
the  National  Park  Service. 


LOCH  VALE,  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  NATIONAL  PARK 


ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  NATIONAL  PARK     31 

four  miles,  is  by  a  gradual,  steady  ascent  and 
there  are  two  interesting  side  trips  worthy  of 
attention;  to  Fern  Falls  and  Marguerite  Falls, 
respectively.  Visit  to  Marguerite  Falls  had 
better  be  taken  on  the  return  journey,  because 
the  foot  trail  is  very  steep  and  rough — horses 
are  not  allowed  on  it — and  descending  it  is 
rather  more  easy  than  ascending.  Fern  Lake 
is  a  charming  body  of  water,  of  greenish  hue, 
approximately  an  eighth  of  a  mile  in  diameter. 
There  is  a  lodge  on  its  southern  shore  that  in 
vites  dwelling  there  indefinitely.  Excellent 
views  of  neighboring  peaks  of  the  "Snowy 
Range"  can  be  had,  and  it  must  be  very  pleas 
ant  to  float  on  the  bosom  of  this  lake  when 
the  setting  sun  gilds  the  mountain  tops  or  the 
silvery  moon  casts  its  refulgent  beams  on  the 
water.  The  elevation  is  about  10,000  feet. 
One  mile  further  on,  and  a  little  more  than 
500  feet  higher,  is  Lake  Odessa.  Though 
smaller,  this  is  an  even  more  beautiful  lake; 
really  an  exquisite  gem.  Its  water  is  icy  cold, 
clear  as  crystal  and  emerald  green  in  color. 


32     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

Large  rain-bow  trout,  15  to  18  inches  in  length, 
may  be  seen  swimming  in  and  out  of  the  shady 
pools  by  the  shore  line  and  occasionally  leap 
ing  to  the  surface,  their  brilliantly  colored 
stripes  flashing  in  the  sun ;  it  would  appear  to 
be  a  Fisherman's  Paradise.  On  still  higher, 
another  500  feet,  Lake  Helena  nestles  in  a 
depression  between  Flat-top  and  Notch-top 
mountains.  This  is  but  a  tiny  lake  and  pos 
sesses  no  special  charm,  but  it  affords  a  good 
object  lesson  in  the  formation  of  mountain 
streams  from  melting  glaciers,  and,  it  is  at  the 
end  of  the  trail,  from  where  good  views  of  the 
Little  Matterhorn  and  other  mountain  peaks 
can  be  obtained. 

The  third  trip  recommended,  the  climbing 
of  Long's  Peak,  requires  a  journey  of  nine 
miles  southward  from  the  village  of  Estes  to 
Long's  Peak  Inn,  at  the  foot  of  that  mountain. 
This  famous  hotel  is  the  home  of  the  still  more 
famous  and  distinguished  naturalist,  Enos 
Mills,  whose  stories  of  the  wild  animal  life  of 
this  region  have  become  so  deservedly  popular. 


ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  NATIONAL  PARK      33 

Long's  Peak  may  be  said  to  dominate  the 
scenery  of  this  park  and  of  the  entire  region 
around  Estes;  rising  as  it  does  to  an  altitude 
of  14,255  feet.  It  may  be  seen  on  clear  days 
even  as  far  as  Denver,  and  from  the  moment 
you  approach  the  park  boundary  this  peak  is 
readily  distinguished  from  its  fellows.  Ascent 
of  this  mountain  is  not  especially  difficult,  is 
practically  devoid  of  danger  and  brings  high 
mountain  climbing  within  range  of  the  inex 
perienced.  The  view  from  the  top  is  one  that 
commands  a  broad  expanse  of  plains  to  the  east 
and  a  seemingly  endless  series  of  mountain 
ranges  to  the  west,  north  and  south. 

The  Continental  Divide  runs  through  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Park  and  at  several  points 
it  is  possible  to  cross  the  divide  by  trail  to 
resorts  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Rockies. 
Most  attractive  of  these  trips  is  the  one  to 
Grand  Lake,  the  largest  lake  in  Colorado, 
situated  9,000  feet  above  sea-level.  Yacht 
races  are  held  upon  this  lake  every  summer 
and  this  yacht  club  probably  enjoys  the  dis 
tinction  of  being  the  highest,  in  point  of  alti 
tude,  in  the  world. 


CHAPTER   III 
MESA  VERDE  NATIONAL  PARK 

"And,  as  the  Cock  crew,  those  who  stood  before 
"The  Tavern  shouted — 'Open  then  the  door, 

"  'You  know  how  little  while  we  have  to  stay, 
"  'And,  once  departed,  may  return  no  more/ 

"With  me  along  the  strip  of  herbage  strewn 
"That  just  divides  the  desert  from  the  sown, 

"Where  name  of  Slave  and  Sultan  is  forgot — 
"And  Peace  to  Mahmud  on  his  golden  Throne." 
Rubaiyat  of  Omar  Khayyam. 

WAS  Omar  right?  Are  we  but  "Impo 
tent  pieces  of  the  game  He  plays  upon 
this  checkerboard  of  nights  and  days"?  Are  we 
mere  puppets  on  this  world  stage?  Have  we 
any  real  control  over  our  actions  and  our  desti 
nies,  or  is  all  the  thought  we  give  to  planning 
from  day  to  day  wasted?  How  few  of  us  can 
comprehend  what  has  gone  before  or  even 
understand  what  is  now  happening. 

A  visit  to  Mesa  Verde  will  surely  set  you 

35 


36     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

thinking  along  these  lines  and  remind  you  of 
the  old  poet.  Here,  indeed,  is  a  strip  of  land 
that  divides  the  desert  from  the  sown;  the 
barren,  sandy  wastes  of  New  Mexico  and  Ari 
zona  from  the  wonderfully  productive  farm 
country  of  Colorado.  Not  that  the  desert  is 
without  interest  and  attraction;  you  may  there 
easily  forget  that  Slave  and  Sultan  exist  and 
will  find  a  peaceful  atmosphere  in  which  to 
speculate  and  philosophize.  And,  in  this  park 
you  will  find  striking  evidence  of  a  race  that 
played  its  brief  part  and  departed,  to  return 
no  more;  "Without  asking,  hither  hurried 
Whence?  And,  without  asking,  Whither  hur 
ried  hence." 

Although  one  of  the  youngest  of  our  na 
tional  parks,  having  been  admitted  to  that 
list  of  distinctive  institutions  so  recently  as 
1906,  Mesa  Verde  enjoys  its  title  to  this  rank 
because  of  its  great  antiquity.  No  one  knows 
when  it  had  its  origin  nor  to  whom  the  work 
of  its  establishment  is  to  be  accredited.  When 
were  these  Cliff  Dwellings  constructed  ?  Who! 


MESA  VERDE  NATIONAL  PARK  37 

were  the  Cliff  Dwellers?  At  what  period  of 
the  Earth's  history  did  they  live  and  to  what 
race  of  human  beings  did  they  belong  ?  Where 
did  they  come  from  and  where  have  they  gone  ? 
These  are  all  questions  that  naturally  arouse 
considerable  interest  in  the  mind  of  the  visitor 
and  yet  which  must  today  go  unanswered. 
Gradually  some  knowledge  of  the  subject  is 
being  evolved  through  the  painstaking  and  in 
defatigable  labors  of  a  small  group  of  scien 
tists,  and  perhaps  the  day  is  not  far  distant 
when  a  fairly  reasonable  idea  of  the  character 
and  mode  of  life  of  these  pre-historic  people 
may  be  available  to  us.  Even  now  a  suf 
ficiently  illuminating  series  of  facts  has  been 
disclosed  to  make  a  study  of  the  subject  inter 
esting  to  even  the  ordinary  tourist,  and  to 
make  a  visit  to  this  region  of  excavations  a 
desirable  and  inspiring  affair. 

The  Mesa  Verde  Park  is  located  in  the 
southwestern  corner  of  Colorado,  the  town  of 
Mancos,  on  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  rail 
road,  being  the  nearest  rail  approach,  and  the 


38    TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

scenery  of  that  district  is  deserving  of  being 
classed  among  the  most  charming  of  our  won 
derful  mountain  and  desert  land.  From  Man- 
cos  the  Government  has  constructed  an  excel 
lent  automobile  highway  for  a  distance  of  32 
miles  to  the  park,  and  is  now  contemplating 
a  series  of  additional  roads  within  the  park 
territory  that  will  make  available  a  much 
larger  area  of  beautiful  country.  Colorado 
probably  contains  as  much  interesting,  beauti 
ful  and  marvelous  scenery  as  any  single  state 
in  the  Union  and  the  visitor  to  the  two  Na 
tional  Parks  located  within  her  borders, 
whether  making  the  grand  tour  of  all  the  parks 
or  not,  will  be  wise  to  take  in  as  much  as  he 
can  of  the  other  wonderful  scenery  of  the  state, 
while  traveling  to  these  special  places.  It 
would  be  very  unwise,  for  instance,  to  pass 
directly  through  Colorado  Springs,  on  the  way 
from  Denver  to  Mancos,  without  pause  to 
inspect  some  of  the  natural  features  of  that 
lovely  resort.  Again  there  is  a  choice  of  sev 
eral  possible  routes  between  these  central 


MESA  VERDE  NATIONAL  PARK          39 

points,  and  both  pleasure  and  profit  can  be 
had  by  stopping  briefly  at  some  of  the  most 
attractive  places  along  the  chosen  route.  It 
has  already  been  mentioned,  in  the  itinerary 
for  touring  the  parks,  that  you  may  travel 
directly  south  from  Denver  to  Antonito  and 
thence  westward,  by  a  branch  line,  to  Mancos. 
But,  if  preferred,  you  may  when  purchasing 
your  transcontinental  ticket,  secure,  without 
additional  charge,  the  privilege  of  approach 
ing  Mancos  by  one  of  the  so-called  "Round 
the  Circle"  trips;  or,  you  may  by  the  payment 
of  $10  extra  secure  a  still  different  form  of 
"Circle"  ticket  that  will  open  up  to  you  some 
of  the  grandest  scenery  to  be  found  anywhere. 
Let  us  consider  Colorado  Springs  and  its  at 
tractions  briefly  before  describing  the  three 
methods  of  reaching  Mancos. 

Colorado  Springs,  with  its  near-by  attrac 
tions,  is  included  in  all  three  routes  to  Mesa 
Verde  and  no  scenery  in  America  has  received 
more  or  better  advertising  than  has  this  par 
ticular  portion  of  Colorado  during  the  past 


40     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

twenty-five  years.  It  is  from  this  city  that 
Pike's  Peak  is  to  be  reached  and  that  the 
Garden  of  the  Gods  and  the  two  Cheyenne 
Canyons  are  entered.  Pike's  Peak  is  the  one 
very  high  mountain  in  this  country  whose  top 
most  pinnacle  (14,109  feet  above  sea  level) 
may  be  climbed  by  anybody.  Long's  Peak, 
in  the  Rocky  Mountain  Park,  is  not  very  diffi 
cult  to  climb,  and  yet  it  requires  labor;  Mt. 
Rainier  presents  a  task  that  taxes  the  hardy, 
steady -nerved  traveler;  and  numerous  other 
peaks  are  reserved  for  the  skilled  and  prac 
ticed  mountaineers  only.  At  Manitou,  four 
miles  from  Colorado  Springs,  and  connected 
thereto  by  trolley  car  and  railroad,  and  at  the 
base  of  Pike's  Peak,  you  may  step  into  a  com 
fortable  car  of  the  cog-railway  and  in  the  short 
space  of  two  hours  find  yourself  at  the  summit, 
without  having  exerted  any  muscle  power 
whatsoever  and  without  having  felt  any  discom 
fort  unless  it  should  be  a  slight  exhilaration, 
sometimes  resulting  in  a  degree  of  faintness, 
from  the  elevated  position  and  consequent 


MESA  VERDE  NATIONAL  PARK  41 

rarified  atmosphere.  The  scenery  along  this 
cog-road  presents  nothing  very  remarkable; 
there  are  no  broad  or  expansive  views,  because 
the  vale  between  this  and  the  a  joining  moun 
tain  is  rather  narrow.  From  the  summit  there 
is  a  commanding  view  of  the  great  Continental 
Divide,  the  central  ridge  of  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains;  the  Snowy  Range,  running  along  the 
western  border  of  this  Divide;  and,  the  vast 
plains  to  the  east,  are  spread  before  the  sight 
seer.  On  a  clear  day  parts  of  Colorado,  Kansas 
and  New  Mexico  are  visible.  The  temperature 
is  apt  to  be  much  lower  at  the  peak  than  at  the 
base  of  the  mountain  and  almost  any  day  in  the 
season  a  light  snow  storm  may  be  encountered. 
Even  on  the  stormy  or  cloudy  days  the  scene 
is,  however,  entrancing,  for  in  lieu  of  the  vast 
expanse  of  country  referred  to  there  will  then 
be  a  great  sea  of  clouds  rolling  below  and 
obliterating  the  earth  from  view.  It  is  not  at 
all  a  unique  experience  here  to  pass  through  a 
shower  or  light  snow  storm  on  the  way  up  into 
the  realm  of  bright  sunshine,  and  then  to  look 


42     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

down  upon  these  storm  clouds  on  the  one  side, 
while  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountain  the 
hills  and  valleys  for  many  miles  are  clearly 
outlined. 

There  is  a  shelter  house  at  the  peak,  where 
light  refreshments  may  be  had  and  where 
accommodations  are  provided  for  those  who 
desire  to  remain  over  night  for  the  purpose  of 
observing  a  sunset  or  sunrise  from  this  ele 
vated  position.  A  considerable  number  of 
people  feel  some  effect  from  this  sudden  trans 
ition  from  a  low  to  such  a  high  altitude; 
to  some  of  these  the  most  beautiful  objects 
on  Pike's  Peak  are  the  hot  coffee  urn  and  the 
heated  Rest  Room.  A  very  small  percentage 
suffer  any  greater  discomfort  and  they  ex 
perience  only  sensations  comparable  to  a  mild 
sea-sickness. 

There  are  now  two  other  means  of  reaching 
the  peak.  The  first,  of  course,  is  to  walk;  a 
plan  that  appeals  to  mountain  and  Nature- 
lovers  and  the  tramp  may  follow  either  the 
path  beside  the  cog-railway,  or  the  burrow. 


Photo  by  Arthur  Chapman.     Reproduced  by  courtesy 
of  the  National  Park  Service. 


CLIFF  PALACE,  THE  LARGEST  OF  THE  CLIFF  DWELLINGS  IN  MESA  VERDE 
NATIONAL  PARK 


MESA  VERDE  NATIONAL  PARK  43 

trail  which  parallels  this  and  is  seldom  more 
than  100  feet  distant.  Recently  an  automo 
bile  boulevard  has  been  opened  to  the  peak; 
private  machines  pay  a  small  toll  for  its  use, 
and  a  Transportation  Company  runs  auto- 
busses  on  regular  schedule  for  those  who  wish 
to  travel  that  way. 

The  Garden  of  the  Gods  is  a  region  in  which 
the  earth's  crust,  consisting  here  mainly  of 
limestone,  red  sandstone  and  porphyry,  has 
been  worn  by  time  and  the  elements  into  some 
what  fantastic  shapes,  here  and  there  leaving 
sharp  pinnacles  or  massive  boulders;  in  other 
places  smaller  rock  formations  bearing  a 
fancied  resemblance  to  animals  or  other  fa 
miliar  objects.  Adjoining  this  garden  an 
enterprising  showman  has  established  on 
ground  of  a  similar  character  a  replica  of 
some  of  the  principal  Cliff  Dwellings  of  the 
Mesa  Verde  Park,  together  with  a  museum 
containing  specimens  of  pottery  and  other 
handiwork  of  the  aborigines,  secured  by  exca 
vations  in  that  region.  An  admission  fee  of 


44     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

$1  is  charged  and  the  guide  explains  what  is 
known  of  the  ancient  tribe  of  Cliff  Dwellers. 
This  is  the  most  interesting  single  feature  of 
a  visit  to  Manitou  and  should  be  seen  if  one 
is  unable  to  visit  the  real  thing  at  Mesa  Verde. 
The  South  Cheyenne  Canyon  affords  an  at 
tractive  park-like  drive  into  one  of  the  many 
indentations  in  the  rocky  ridge  and  differs  from 
hundreds  of  others  only  in  the  fact  that  there 
is  a  rather  pretty  water-fall  at  its  inner  ex 
tremity,  a  cataract  of  300  feet  drop  divided 
into  seven  short  leaps.  On  the  mountain  top 
near  here  is  the  tomb  of  the  late  Helen  Hunt 
Jackson,  who,  it  is  said,  was  the  first  person 
to  explore  this  canyon  and  who  called  atten 
tion  to  its  great  beauty,  expressing  the  wish 
to  find  her  eternal  resting  place  on  the  highest 
point  of  its  south  wall.  Most  of  the  named 
points  of  interest  here,  as  in  the  Garden  of 
the  Gods,  received  their  baptism  from  Mrs. 
Jackson. 

The  direct  route  to  Mancos,  after  leaving 
Colorado    Springs,    runs    south    to    Cucharo 


MESA  VERDE  NATIONAL  PARK  45 

Junction,  between  the  Spanish  Peaks,  by  way 
of  La  Veta  Pass  to  Alamosa,  and  southward 
again  to  Antonito,  where  a  branch  line  con 
nection  is  made  for  Mancos.  Should  you 
prefer  to  include  a  view  of  the  Royal  Gorge, 
the  privilege  is  extended  of  making  a  diversion 
from  Pueblo,  one  hour's  run  south  of  Colorado 
Springs,  riding  through  the  gorge  and  travel 
ing  south  from  Salida  to  Alamosa,  Antonito 
and  Mancos.  Either  way  the  scenery  is  very 
beautiful. 

Taking  the  "Round  the  Circle"  trip  to 
Mancos,  the  journey  from  Colorado  Springs 
runs  by  way  of  Pueblo,  thence  westward  to 
pass  through  the  Royal  Gorge  of  the  Arkan 
sas  river.  Special  open  cars  are  provided,  be 
ing  attached  to  the  train  at  Canyon  City  and 
run  through  to  Parkdale,  permitting  an  un 
obstructed  view  of  all  the  grandeur  and  sub 
limity  of  this  mighty  gorge.  The  distance  is 
only  about  eight  miles,  but  a  wonderful 
amount  of  remarkable  scenery  is  concentrated 
in  that  short  ride.  The  water  dashes  and 


46     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

plunges  through  the  deep,  dark  canyon  whose 
precipitous  walls  lift  themselves  to  the  dizzy 
heights  half  a  mile  above. 

At  Ridgeway,  Colorado,  the  circle  trip 
divides  and  a  choice  is  presented  of  continuing 
all  the  way  by  rail,  over  the  Dallas  Divide 
and  around  Lizard  Head  mountain  and  Trout 
Lake  to  Dolores  and  Mancos,  or  of  stopping 
off  at  Ourey,  one  of  the  most  beautifully  lo 
cated  mountain  towns  in  the  world,  and  taking 
stage  there  to  Silverton — a  thrilling  mountain 
ride  through  the  wildest  and  most  picturesque 
portion  of  the  Rockies — and  then  continuing 
by  train  through  the  Canyon  de  Los  Animas 
Perdidas  (canyon  of  the  Lost  Souls)  to 
Durango  and  Mancos.  It  is  difficult  to  advise 
as  to  which  of  these  routes  is  preferable.  Of 
one  thing  you  may  feel  sure.  You  will  secure 
your  money's  worth  by  either  route,  for  the 
scenery  each  way  is  glorious  beyond  descrip 
tion  and  the  selection  must  depend  upon  what 
particular  feature  seems  most  interesting  to 
you,  or  upon  the  amount  of  time  that  can  be 


MESA  VERDE  NATIONAL  PARK  47 

allotted  to  the  trip.  Should  you  be  returning 
to  Denver,  actually  making  the  circle,  of 
course  you  will  go  out  by  one  and  return  by 
another  of  these  routes.  If,  however,  you  be 
following  the  grand  tour  of  the  parks  and 
intend  to  proceed  next  to  the  Grand  Canyon 
of  Arizona,  the  return  to  the  main  line  from 
Mancos  will  be  to  Antonito  and  thence  south 
ward  to  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico.  This  also 
is  through  an  attractive  mountain  country 
with  the  Sangre  de  Christo  range  occupying 
the  center  of  the  stage. 

At  Mancos,  transportation  to  the  Mesa 
Verde  Park  is  furnished  by  automobile  stage; 
a  three  hours'  ride  over  an  excellently  con 
structed  government  road.  The  chauffeurs 
are  all  capable  guides  and  will  show  visitors 
through  the  four  principal  ruins :  Cliff  Palace, 
Spruce  Tree  House,  Balcony  House  and  the 
Sun  Temple.  All  of  this  can  be  accomplished 
in  one  day  and  this  park  may  be  seen  within 
a  twenty-four  hours'  visit  if  time  has  to  be 
considered  as  an  important  factor.  Much 


48     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

more  time  can  be  profitably  devoted  to  the 
park,  however,  for  not  only  are  the  ruins  of 
surpassing  interest,  but  the  natural  scenery  of 
the  vicinity  is  fascinatingly  beautiful.  There 
is  recreation  here  to  content  one  for  weeks, 
roaming  through  the  canyon  to  explore  the 
ruins,  climbing  the  mesa  and  surveying  the 
jagged  sky-line  of  surrounding  mountain 
ranges.  Westward  is  the  "Sleeping  Ute,"  a 
great  mountainous  mass  so  formed  as  to  re 
semble  a  gigantic  indian  in  repose,  stretched 
at  full  length  on  the  hill-top.  Northward,  with 
their  saw-toothed,  snow-capped  peaks,  the 
Mecampahgres  range  towers.  Eastward,  and 
comparatively  near,  are  the  graceful  La 
Plattas;  while,  to  the  south,  spreads  a  far 
sweep  of  mesa  land.  Spreading  round  about 
in  a  bewildering  maze  are  deep -furrowed, 
labyrinthine  canyons,  in  the  caves  and  on  the 
ledges  of  whose  precipitous  walls  the  Cliff 
Dwellers  built  their  unique  abodes.  Wild 
flowers  abound  in  the  spring  and  early  sum 
mer.  The  Mesa  Verde  (green  table-land),  so 


MESA  VERDE  NATIONAL  PARK  49 

named  because  of  the  growth  of  spruce  and 
pinyon  trees  in  a  land  where  trees  of  any  kind 
are  very  scarce,  has  an  elevation  of  8000  feet 
and  overlooks,  on  the  west,  the  Montezuma 
valley  with  its  well  cultivated  fields. 

The  Cliff  Dwellings  were  accidentally  dis 
closed  to  our  generation  in  1888  by  two  broth 
ers  who  were  searching  for  lost  cattle.  Push 
ing  through  a  dense  growth  on  the  edge  of  a 
deep  canyon  they  suddenly  beheld  this  unusual 
sight  and  shouted  aloud  in  their  astonishment. 
Their  surprise  can  well  be  imagined,  for, 
across  the  canyon,  tucked  into  a  shelf  under 
the  overhanging  edge  of  the  opposite  brink, 
were  the  walls  and  towers  of  what  seemed  to 
them  a  palace.  Forgetting  the  cattle,  in  their 
excitement,  they  searched  the  edge  of  the  mesa 
in  all  directions.  Under  the  overhanging  ledge 
of  another  canyon  they  found  a  small  group 
of  structures  no  less  majestic  than  the  first, 
and  as  there  was  a  large  spruce  tree  growing 
out  of  these  ruins  they  named  this  main  struc 
ture  the  Spruce  Tree  House,  and  called  the 


60     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

first  discovered  dwelling  the  Cliff  Palace. 
Thus  was  discovered  accidentally  the  most 
elaborate  and  best  preserved  prehistoric  ruins 
in  America,  if  not  in  all  the  world.  Since  then 
careful  explorations  have  been  made  by  scien 
tists,  and  a  most  remarkable  series  of  dwellings, 
temples  of  worship,  watch-towers  and  forts, 
implements  of  trade,  instruments  of  warfare 
and  the  chase,  household  utensils  and  bits  of 
artistic  pottery  have  been  unearthed.  Many 
pieces  of  the  pottery,  especially,  are  well  pre 
served  and  compare  very  favorably  in  design, 
in  decoration  and  in  workmanship,  with  similar 
work  of  the  present  day  Pueblo  Indians.  From 
the  mortuary  chambers  of  some  of  the  dwel 
lings  mummified  bodies  of  the  late  cliff- 
dwellers  have  been  taken  and  the  skeletons 
appear  to  be  about  the  same  as  those  of  the 
Flat-head  Indians.  There  is  abundant  evi 
dence  to  prove  that  these  people  cultivated 
the  land,  raised  corn  and  ground  it  into  meal, 
by  pounding  or  rubbing  it  between  stones, 
baked  their  bread  in  stone  ovens,  and  pos- 


Photo  by  Beam,  Denver,  Colorado. 


SPRUCE  TREE  HOUSE,  MESA  VERDE  NATIONAL  PARK 


MESA  VERDE  NATIONAL  PARK  51 

sessed  stone  bowls  and  dishes  for  the  cooking 
and  serving  of  meats.  Some  of  these  vessels 
are  quite  artistically  decorated.  It  would 
seem  that  the  Cliff  Dwellers  occupied  a  station 
intermediate  between  the  Cave  Dwellers  and 
the  more  civilized  Indians  of  other  regions. 
Their  houses  were  well  constructed  of  stone, 
held  together  by  adobe  mortar,  and  were  par 
titioned  into  rooms  for  various  purposes.  For 
doors  they  used  slabs  of  stone  held  in  place 
by  wooden  rods,  and  for  staples,  into  which 
these  rods  might  be  inserted,  made  use  of 
willow  wands,  that  could  be  bent  and  their 
ends  embedded  in  the  mortar. 

Spruce  Tree  House  is  over  200  feet  long, 
nearly  100  feet  wide,  and  contains  114  rooms, 
eight  of  which  were  reserved  for  ceremonial 
purposes.  A  Ceremonial  chamber,  or  Khiva, 
was  a  place  of  meeting  for  religious  services 
that  probably  consisted  mainly  in  prayers  for 
rain,  in  this  arid  region,  and,  for  tribal  con 
ferences.  Cliff  Palace  is  even  larger  than 
Spruce  Tree  House  and  lies  under  an  enor- 


62     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

mous  cave-like  roof  of  stone,  while  its  floor 
is  several  hundred  feet  above  the  bottom  of 
the  canyon.  The  structural  masonry  of  this 
building  is  of  fine  character  and  would  not 
discredit  a  mason  of  today.  Sun  Temple  is 
an  amazing  edifice,  evidently  the  supreme  re 
sult  of  efforts  of  the  Cliff  Dwellers  to  design 
and  construct  a  temple  of  worship. 

Mesa  Verde  holds  great  possibilities  for 
study,  for  contemplation  and  for  enjoyment 
mnd,  while  in  that  neighborhood,  some  com 
parative  consideration  may  well  be  given  to 
the  pueblos  of  present  day  Indians.  This  can 
easily  be  accomplished  by  stopping  off  for 
part  of  a  day  at  any  one  of  the  following 
places:  San  Juan,  Santa  Clara,  San  Ildefonsa 
or  Tesuque;  the  latter  best  reached  by  driving 
out  from  Santa  Fe.  An  extra  and  very  un 
usual  treat  awaits  those  who  chance  to  be  in 
that  vicinity  about  the  end  of  September  and 
can  attend  the  great  Indian  Fiesta  at  Taos. 
September  30th  is  San  Geronimo  Day  and, 
jthough  no  one  knows  how  it  originated,  it  is 


MESA  VERDE  NATIONAL  PARK  63 

still  observed  every  year  with  great  pomp  and 
ceremony.  Taos  is  perhaps  the  oddest  town 
in  America  today  and,  incidentally,  it  is  one 
of  the  oldest,  for  it  was  built  by  Pueblo  In 
dians  and  some  of  its  houses  were  inhabited 
long  before  America  was  discovered  by  Co 
lumbus.  The  great  Tribal  Dances  of  the 
Indians  have  almost  vanished  from  this  coun 
try,  but,  in  the  northern  part  of  New  Mexico 
is  a  race  of  agricultural  Indians  who  have 
remained  very  independent  and  who  have 
clung  tenaciously  to  their  ancient  customs.  A 
Mission  was  established  at  Taos,  by  the  Span 
iards,  in  1617,  and  St.  Jerome  was  named  as 
Patron  Saint.  The  festival  referred  to  is  really 
a  sort  of  Harvest  Home  celebration  or  Thanks 
giving  to  the  Sun  God  for  the  good  season. 
The  festivities  commence  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  29th;  so  it  is  advisable  to  arrive  on  the 
morning  of  that  day,  if  one  would  witness  the 
entire  proceedings. 

At  Vespers,  the  evening  before  the  Saint's 
Day,  the  festival  begins  with  candle  offerings. 


54     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

As  the  fast  setting  sun  suffuses  the  valley  with 
soft  light,  an  Indian,  an  Acolyte,  climbs  to  the 
flat  roof  of  the  adobe  chapel  and  with  a  stone 
in  each  hand  beats  the  call  to  services.  After 
the  preliminary  religious  exercises,  two  bands 
of  Indians,  crowned  with  leafy  chaplets  and 
bearing  green  boughs  in  their  hands,  file  into 
the  courtyard  of  the  chapel,  face  each  other 
in  two  long  lines,  and  then,  to  the  music  of 
their  own  weird  chanting,  begin  the  Sun 
Dance.  The  following  day  is  devoted  to  sec 
ular  celebration  and  assumes  more  the  char 
acter  of  a  County  Fair;  there  are  gaily 
decorated  booths  offering  food,  drink  and 
fancy  articles  for  sale,  and  amusement  is  fur 
nished  in  the  form  of  races,  athletic  contests 
and  clownish  mirth-making. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  GRAND  CANYON  OF  ARIZONA 

"All  Heaven  and  earth  are  still,  though  not  in  sleep, 
But  breathless,  as  we  grow  when  feeling  most; 
And  silent,  as  we  stand  in  thoughts  too  deep." 

LORD  BYRON. 

r  1 1HERE  is  a  large  area  in  the  southwest- 
-*•  ern  part  of  the  United  States  that  has 
sometimes  been  spoken  of  as  "The  country  God 
forgot."  The  author  of  that  phrase  must  have 
been  a  person  who,  "Having  eyes  to  see,  yet 
saw  not."  Rather  would  it  seem  that  anyone 
living  in  this  region  or  even  passing  through  it 
as  a  tourist  must  become  fascinated  by  its  mani 
fest  charm  and  ever  changing  beauty.  Can  you 
think  that  God  forgot  a  country  wherein  he 
placed  some  of  the  finest  scenery  in  all  the 
world?  Observe  that,  beside  a  marvelous 
array  of  the  most  gorgeously  colored  land 
scape,  He  chose  to  put  there  two  of  the  world's 

55 


56     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

great  wonders — the  Petrified  Forest  and  the 
Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado  River ;  that,  in 
addition  to  a  canopy  of  the  purest  cerulean 
blue  upon  which  masses  of  white  clouds  play 
in  the  most  fascinating  manner  every  day  and 
all  day,  and  through  which  the  stars  gleam 
with  exceptional  brilliancy  every  night,  He 
spread  over  this  country  a  mystic  charm  that 
is  more  alluring  to  the  soul  of  man  than  any 
thing  outside  the  desert  can  ever  be.  No,  God 
certainly  did  not  forget  New  Mexico  and  Ari 
zona;  God  was  lavish  in  his  attention  to  this 
region  and  showered  it  with  His  gifts. 

Transcontinental  tourists  sometimes  speak 
of  the  American  desert  as  a  barren,  dreary 
waste,  the  crossing  of  which  must  be  endured 
but  cannot  possibly  be  enjoyed.  Whatever  it 
may  have  meant  to  those  pioneers  who  treked 
over  it  in  the  early  days,  the  present  method 
of  crossing  need  not  be  dreaded.  Even  as 
seen  from  the  windows  of  a  rapidly  moving 
express  train  the  panorama  is  pleasurable  and 
interesting.  But  the  American  Desert  is  far 


• 


Photo  by  II.  T.  Cowling.     Reproduced  by  courtesy  of 
the  National  Park  Service. 


GRAND  CANYON  FROM  MOJAVE  POINT 


THE  GRAND  CANYON  OF  ARIZONA   67 

•.   -  -     -  ^ 

from  being  the  barren,  worthless  land  it  ap 
pears  to  the  casual  passer-by.  Get  out  and 
tramp  through  a  portion  of  the  desert  and  you 
will  find  many  beautiful  flowers  blooming  in 
this  apparently  arid  waste.  You  will  not  be 
surprised  to  see  the  Cactus  blossoming  in  per 
fection  of  form,  size  and  color;  but  you  may 
be  amazed  to  discover  a  great  variety  of  small, 
delicate,  brilliantly  colored  flowers.  Generally 
these  are  found  growing  under  the  protecting 
shade  of  a  sage  brush,  and  you  will  be  mystified 
in  wondering  where  they  obtain  food  and 
drink.  It  is  a  demonstration  of  Burns'  lines — 
"Ilka  blade  of  grass  keps  it's  ain  drap  o'  dew." 
The  desert  has  its  own  interesting  flora,  and, 
in  addition,  it  should  be  remembered,  it  is  ca 
pable  of  producing  a  luxuriant  growth  of 
plant  life  when  treated  in  the  proper  way  by 
irrigation.  Some  day  this  whole  vast  area  may 
blossom  and  fructify  as  a  fertile  garden. 

Breaking  the  journey  at  the  City  of  Santa 
Fe,  you  will  step  into  a  quaint,  old-fashioned 
town,  whose  buildings  have  the  air  of  antiquity, 


58     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

if  not  of  decadence,  and  most  of  whose  citizens 
speak  a  foreign  tongue.  It  is  the  Capital  of 
New  Mexico,  a  large  number  of  whose  inhabi 
tants  speak  Spanish  and  not  a  few  adhere  to 
the  Indian  language.  There  is  abundant  evi 
dence  of  "American  progress"  in  Santa  Fe, 
but  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  city 
are  those  pertaining  to  its  early  history.  For 
instance,  the  oldest  continuously  inhabited 
house  in  the  United  States  is  said  to  be  one 
located  here  and  which  was  constructed  long 
before  the  Pilgrims  landed  on  our  Atlantic 
coast.  It  was  built  by  the  Pecos  Indians  prior 
to  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  who  established 
themselves  in  this  vicinity  in  1605.  The  old 
Government  Palace  has  been  the  seat  of  gov 
ernment  for  the  Spaniards,  Indians,  Mexicans 
and  present-day  Americans,  successively,  and 
the  great  plaza  has  witnessed  the  most  im 
portant  local  historical  events  of  the  past  three 
centuries,  at  least,  while  as  to  what  transpired 
there  before  1600,  in  the  days  of  the  Cliff 
Dwellers,  we  have  no  record.  Santa  Fe  has 


ADOBE  HOUSES  IN  THE  INDIAN  PUEBLO  OF  TESUQUE,  NEW  MEXICO 


THE  GRAND  CANYON  OF  ARIZONA   59 

also  gained  some  distinction  in  more  recent 
years  by  being  the  home  of  General  Lew  Wal 
lace,  while  he  was  writing  "Ben  Hur,"  and  of 
Kit  Carson ;  two  gentlemen  of  rather  different 
tastes  and  characteristics. 

The  Indian  village  of  Tesuque  may  be 
reached  by  a  short  drive  northward  from  the 
city  and  affords  an  excellent  opportunity  to 
study  a  typical  pueblo.  It  lies  in  the  midst 
of  a  flourishing  farming  country  and  a  region 
that  contains  many  relics  of  the  ancient  tribes. 
Because  it  is  a  farming  community  the  men 
will  be  mostly  occupied  in  the  fields  while  the 
women  look  after  the  necessary  things  to  be 
done  within  the  village  proper.  Not  only  do 
they  engage  in  basket  weaving  and  rug  mak 
ing,  but  groups  of  squaws  may  be  seen  thresh 
ing  grain  after  their  old  time  method ;  the  grain 
being  spread  out  on  a  large  cloth  and  beaten 
with  flails.  The  buildings  are  mostly  one-story 
in  height,  constructed  of  adobe  and  arranged 
in  the  form  of  a  quadrangle;  the  central  hollow 
square,  or  Plaza,  being  the  place  for  public 


60     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

meetings*  A  few  houses  are  two-stories  in 
height,  but  there  are  no  interior  stairways  and 
the  upper  tier  of  rooms  has  to  be  reached  by 
ladder  to  the  roof  of  the  first  story.  The  Chief 
of  the  tribe  is  duly  chosen  or  elected  by  his 
own  people  and  is  clothed  with  more  than  the 
power  of  an  ordinary  American  Mayor ;  he  is, 
in  fact,  a  King  or  Dictator  in  a  small  way, 
having  absolute  authority  in  all  tribal  affairs. 
Their  government  is  based  upon  the  communal 
plan,  all  working  for  the  good  of  the  general 
community  and  all  sharing  in  the  products  of 
the  community  labor.  It  is  a  rather  interest 
ing  fact  that  the  Pueblo  Indians  of  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona  have  lived  in  accordance 
with  this  socialistic  plan  for  hundreds  of  years, 
that  they  have  universal  suffrage,  and  that 
they  have  never  been  a  charge  upon  our  na 
tional  government. 

Continuing  the  journey  westward  from 
Santa  Fe  the  railroad  passes  through  numer 
ous  pueblos,  glimpses  of  which  may  be  had 
from  the  car  window,  and  within  a  few  miles 


THE  GRAND  CANYON  OF  ARIZONA       61 

of  others  that  would  repay  the  time  spent  in 
visiting  them.  Three  of  the  most  important 
are  Laguna,  Acoma  and  Zuni.  Except  for  its 
more  attractive  location,  on  the  top  of  a  mesa 
300  feet  above  the  neighboring  plain,  Laguna 
differs  but  slightly  from  Tesuque;  it  is  some 
what  larger,  the  Mission  church  is  more  pre 
tentious  and  there  is  an  air  of  greater  prosper 
ity  about  the  buildings.  Acoma,  attained  by 
a  drive  of  fifteen  miles  from  Laguna,  is  built 
upon  the  summit  of  a  table  rock  with  eroded 
precipitous  sides,  350  feet  above  the  plain, 
"which  is  7000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  Mission 
church  of  this  pueblo  has  walls  60  feet  high 
"by  10  feet  thick,  with  timbers  that  measure  40 
feet  in  length  and  14  inches  square,  and  the 
task  involved  in  its  construction  may  be 
imagined  when  it  is  recalled  that  all  the  ma 
terial  used  in  building  had  to  be  carried  by 
hand  up  a  hazardous  stairway  cut  into  the 
rock.  It  is  believed  by  some  that  the  Acomas 
once  had  their  home  upon  the  Mesa  Encan- 
tada  (Enchanted  Mesa),  430  feet  in  height 


62     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

and  about  three  miles  from  the  present  site, 
and  that  they  were  compelled  to  move  because 
its  only  approach  was  closed  by  the  falling  of 
a  cliff.  Zuni  has  been  made  famous  by  the 
writings  of  Mr.  Frank  Gushing,  who  lived  in 
the  pueblo  for  several  years,  and  the  Zuni 
ceremonial  dances  are  of  world  wide  renown. 
Gallup  is  the  railway  point  of  departure  for 
this  pueblo  and  the  trip  is  a  comfortable  car 
riage  ride  over  good  roads  and  through  im 
pressive  scenery. 

Crossing  the  line  that  separates  New  Mexico 
from  Arizona,  the  Indians  may  be  abandoned 
for  a  consideration  of  some  of  the  inanimate 
wonders  of  this  new  "Land  of  Enchantment." 
Adamana  is  the  point  of  arrest  for  inspection 
of  the  great  Petrified  Forest  of  Arizona,  the 
largest  collection  of  the  largest  and  finest 
specimens  of  petrified  wood  to  be  found  any 
where  in  the  world.  Thousands  of  acres  are 
thickly  strewn  with  trunks  and  segments  of 
trunks,  or  covered  with  chip-like  fragments. 
Some  of  these  prostrate  trees  of  stone  are  over 


HOPI  INDIANS  DECORATING  POTTERY 


THE  GRAND  CANYON  OF  ARIZONA   63 

200  feet  in  length  and  from  7  to  10  feet  in 
diameter.  Many  of  them  are  broken  into  sec 
tions  by  transverse  fracture  and  a  cross  section 
will  resemble  an  onyx-top  table,  the  coloring 
being  beyond  description. 

Beyond  Adamana,  at  Williams,  Arizona, 
change  is  made  to  the  train  for  the  Grand 
Canyon  of  the  Colorado  River,  and  there,  at 
the  brink  of  the  grandest  and  greatest  and 
most  wonderful  chasm  in  all  the  world  (the 
"Titan  of  Chasms"  it  has  been  called),  you 
will  be  struck  dumb  with  amazement.  Trying 
to  express  his  sensations  upon  first  viewing  this 
wonderful  sight,  a  friend  said:  "Paralyzed, 
speechless,  overwhelmed  with  emotion,  I  could 
only  feel  that  I  had  thrust  myself  uninvited 
into  the  presence  of  the  Almighty.  That  feel 
ing  of  solemnity  comes  to  us  in  many  places 
where  the  stupendous  works  of  the  Maker 
impress  us  with  the  same  sensation  as  on  enter 
ing  a  great  house  of  worship,  but,  nowhere 
have  I  ever  felt  anything  like  this  overpower- 


fa    TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

ing  degree  of  reverence  induced  by  the  sublime 
grandeur  of  the  Grand  Cany  on. " 

They  tell  a  story  at  El  Tovar  of  an  artist, 
who  was  familiar  with  the  region,  taking  his 
bride  to  the  brink  and,  wishing  to  note  the 
effect  of  a  first  view  to  her,  requested  that  she 
should  go  blindfolded  to  the  rim  and  get  her 
first  impression  as  he  snatched  away  the  cover 
ing  handkerchief.  For  a  long  period  she  gazed 
at  the  gloriously  beautiful  scene,  apparently 
stupefied,  and  then,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  she 
said — "If  you  ever  try  to  paint  this  I  shall 
leave  you."  To  her  it  seemed  a  sacrilege  for 
man  to  attempt  to  portray  the  scene  with  his 
necessarily  feeble  imitations.  If  that  may  be 
applied  to  an  accomplished  painter,  what 
should  be  done  to  the  fool  that  attempts  to 
paint  a  word-picture  of  such  indescribable 
scenery? 

The  attempts  of  others,  far  more  fluent 
speakers,  should  warn  us  not  to  try.  "By  far 
the  most  sublime  of  all  earthly  spectacles,"  said 
Charles.  W.  Warner.  "It  is  beyond  com- 


THE  GRAND  CANYON  OF  ARIZONA   65 

parison — beyond  description;  absolutely  un- 
par ailed  throughout  the  wide  world,"  said 
Theodore  Roosevelt.  "A  gigantic  statement 
for  even  Nature  to  make  all  in  one  mighty 
stone  word.  Wildness  so  Godful,  cosmic, 
primeval,  bestows  a  new  sense  of  earth's  beauty 
and  size,"  was  the  comment  of  John  Muir. 
According  to  William  Winter,  it  is  "A  pag 
eant  of  ghastly  desolation  and  yet  of  frightful 
vitality,  such  as  neither  Dante  nor  Milton  in 
their  most  sublime  conceptions  ever  even  ap 
proached."  As  a  matter  of  fact  these  terse 
and  forceful  sentences  are  tame1  efforts  to 
relate  the  impression  received  from  a  view  of 
this  wonderful  phenomenon. 

In  a  Government  publication,  Mr.  Robert 
S.  Yard  says:  "Even  the  most  superficial  de 
scription  of  this  enormous  spectacle  may  not 
be  put  into  words.  The  wanderer  upon  the 
rim  overlooks  a  thousand  square  miles  of  pyra 
mids  and  minarets  carved  from  the  painted 
depths.  Many  miles  away  and  more  than  a 
mile  below  the  level  of  his  feet  he  sees  a  tiny 


66     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

silver  thread  which  he  knows  is  the  giant 
Colorado.  He  is  numbed  by  the  spectacle. 
At  first  he  can't  comprehend  it.  There  is  no 
measure,  nothing  which  the  eye  can  grasp,  the 
mind  fathom.  It  may  be  hours  before  he  can 
even  slightly  adjust  himself  to  the  titanic 
spectacle,  before  it  ceases  to  be  utter  chaos; 
and  not  until  then  does  he  begin  to  exclaim 
in  rapture,  and  he  never  wholly  adjusts  him 
self,  for  with  dawning  appreciation  comes 
growing  wonder.  Comprehension  lies  always 
just  beyond  his  reach.  The  blues  and  the 
grays,  the  mauves  and  the  reds,  are  second  in 
glory  only  to  the  Canyon's  size  and  sculpture. 
The  colors  change  with  every  changing  hour. 
The  morning  and  evening  shadows  play  magi 
cians'  tricks." 

Why  does  one  feel  this  Canyon  so  much 
more  intensely  than  anything  else  in  Nature? 
Certainly  it  is  not  merely  the  fact  that  it  is 
twenty  miles  wide,  one  mile  deep  and  contains 
within  that  vast  crevasse  in  the  earth's  surface 
mountains  that  are  really  a  mile  high.  It  is  not 


Photo  by  II.  T.  Cowling.     Reproduced  by  courtesy  of 
the  National_Park  Service. 

VIEW  OF  CANYON  AND  RIVER 


THE  GRAND  CANYON  OF  ARIZONA       67 

the  immensity  of  it  alone.  Perhaps  it  is  due  to  its 
depth  and  its  stillness,  more  than  to  anything 
else.  Generally,  large  objects  are  measured 
by  height  or  length  or  breadth;  seldom  do  we 
think  of  great  depth.  Mountains  are  usually 
looked  up  to,  not  down  upon.  And  then  the 
quiet  of  the  Canyon.  From  this  immense  void 
not  a  sound  emanates.  There  is  a  stillness 
that  you  can  actually  feel;  I  had  almost  said 
that  you  can  actually  hear.  As  I  look  back 
upon  it  those  are  the  two  deepest  impressions 
left  upon  my  mind  —  the  depth  and  the 
quietude. 

You  may  see  much  of  the  beauty  of  the 
Grand  Canyon  from  its  rim,  by  walking  or 
driving  along  the  fine  macadamized  road  and 
taking  views  from  such  noted  spots  as  Pima 
Point,  Hopi  Point  and  Yavapai  Point,  but  you 
will  miss  something  if  you  do  not  get  the  thrill 
of  a  trip  down  into  the  canyon  depths.  This 
can  be  attained  on  foot  or  horseback  down  the 
Bright  Angel  trail  to  Indian  Gardens  and  then 
extending  the  walk  to  the  river's  edge.  Lunch 


68     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

is  had  at  the  Gardens  and  return  to  the  hotel 
made  in  time  for  dinner;  or,  it  is  possible  to 
descend  by  the  Hermit  trail,  remain  over  night 
at  the  camp  and  return  to  the  rim  next  day 
by  the  Bright  Angel  route.  The  Canyon  can 
be  seen  in  one  day,  but  a  week  is  all  too  short 
a  time  to  see  it  properly  and  enjoy  it  thor 
oughly. 


CHAPTER  V 
SEQUOIA  NATIONAL  PARK 

"Wind  of  the  East,  Wind  of  the  West,  wander 
ing  to  and  fro. 

Chant  your  songs  in  our  topmost  boughs,  that 
the  sons  of  men  may  know 

The  peerless  pine  was  the  first  to  come,  and 
the  pine  will  be  last  to  go." 

ROBERT  W.  SERVICE. 


ON  leaving  the  Grand  Canyon  you  may 
feel  that  any  other  place  you  shall 
visit  must  necessarily  seem  tame  and  insipid 
after  the  overwhelming  effect  of  (that  stu 
pendous  marvel;  but,  it  is  a  curious  and  re 
markably  satisfactory  provision  of  Nature 
that  one  impression  shall  give  way  to  another 
without  destroying  the  value  of  the  one  dis 
placed.  Mental  impressions  are  not  unlike 
visual  impressions.  Note  how  rapidly  the 
human  eye  photographs  one  scene  after  an- 

69 


70     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

other  without  the  least  mental  confusion.  In 
the  minutest  fraction  of  a  second  one  negative 
upon  the  retina  has  been  washed  out  and 
another  developed  upon  the  same  film,  and 
this  repetition  goes  on  hour  after  hour,  in 
definitely,  each  picture  as  it  is  formed  heing 
transmitted  to  the  brain  and  recorded  there 
in  the  memory  center  for  future  reference;  a 
process  of  natural  perpetual  motion. 

When  storing  up  impressions  of  the  Canyon 
you  may  have  used  up  your  supply  of  super 
lative  adjectives,  considering  it  the  climax  of 
all  things  beautiful  and  marvelous,  and  may 
have  wondered  whether  you  should  ever  again 
see  anything  that  could  so  deeply  stir  your 
feelings.  There  was  little  cause  for  worry, 
since  an  all- wise  Providence  has  so  arranged 
affairs,  both  as  to  the  relative  value  of  Nature's 
beauty  spots  and  as  to  our  perception  and  ab 
sorption  of  these  effects,  that  the  lesser  is  not 
lost  in  the  greater,  but  each  finds  its  due  ap 
preciation  and  its  appropriate  niche  in  the 
store  house  of  memory.  The  Grand  Canyon 


SEQUOIA  NATIONAL  PARK  71 

is  entitled  to  retain  its  place  in  supreme  com 
mand  of  natural  scenery,  and  yet,  in  the 
Sequoia  Park  you  are  to  see  something  that 
will  touch  you  almost  as  deeply  and  impress 
you  in  a  different  sense  with  the  majesty  and 
grandeur  of  God's  masterpieces.  In  the  Can 
yon  was  delicacy  of  beauty  in  the  play  of 
colors,  grace  and  strength  in  the  sculpture  of 
the  rocks,  and  size  measured  in  the  depth  and 
expanse  of  the  chasm.  In  the  Sequoia  Park 
is  beauty  of  a  different  type,  and  strength  and 
size  and  steadfastness  that  has  to  be  estimated 
by  another  form  of  measurement.  Instead  of 
depth  there  is  height.  Instead  of  a  wide  ex 
panse  of  air-filled  space  there  is  dense,  solid 
thickness  of  impervious  and  impenetrable  sub 
stance.  Instead  of  material  that  has  slowly 
given  way  before  the  erosive  action  of  the  ele 
ments  there  has  been  steadfast  resistance 
through  all  the  ages  to  the  most  violent  ravages 
of  the  storm  king. 

The  Sequoia  is  stanch  and  noble  and  true. 
It  scarcely  bends  or  sways  in  the  gale ;  it  never 


72     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

breaks.  Lightning  strikes  it,  because  it  stands 
exposed  above  all  its  neighbors  of  the  tree 
kingdom,  and  it  loses  some  top  branches  or 
takes  on  a  scar  from  the  burning  of  its  great 
body,  but  it  does  not  succumb;  instead,  it 
stands  as  erect  as  ever  and  carries  its  head 
proudly  as  one  above  noticing  such  indignities. 
Some  violent  cataclysm  of  Nature,  or  the  ruth 
less  hand  of  man  casts  one  of  these  giants  to 
earth;  it  does  not  die  or  rot  like  other  trees; 
not  at  all,  it  slumbers  quietly  like  a  giant  at 
rest  and  defies  even  death. 

For  more  than  5000  years,  some  believe  as 
long  as  8000,  these  trees  have  been  growing; 
a  very  much  longer  period  of  time  than  has 
been  covered  by  any  other  thing  living  on  this 
earth  today.  Yet,  these  trees  are  in  prime  con 
dition  and  no  man  can  say  whether  they  may 
not  be  in  the  youthful  stage  of  their  allotted 
span  of  existence.  Just  pause  for  a  moment 
to  consider  what  has  happened  in  the  world 
since  these  trees  were  little  saplings ;  you  must 
go  back  beyond  any  period  of  which  there  is 


SEQUOIA  NATIONAL  PARK  73 

record ;  all  the  known  history  of  the  world  has 
been  enacted  within  that  time. 

Detraining  at  Visalia,  or  at  Exeter,  Cali 
fornia,  a  trolley  car  ride  of  twenty  miles  leads 
to  Lemon  Cove,  whence  automobile  stages  em 
bark  for  the  Giant  Forest,  about  40  miles  to 
the  eastward  on  the  heights  of  the  Sierra  Neva- 
das.  All  the  way  up  the  San  Joaquin  Valley 
the  beauty  of  the  fruit  farms  and  ranches  will 
have  been  impressive  and  perhaps  the  diversity 
of  the  crops  as  interesting  as  any  other  feature. 
Oranges,  lemons,  peaches,  plums,  apples  and 
grapes  predominate,  but  there  is  also  a  great 
variety  of  berries  and  melons.  In  the  region 
of  Exeter  and  Visalia  the  vineyards  increased 
in  number,  since  approach  was  being  made  to 
the  center  of  the  raisin  industry.  Lemon  Cove, 
as  its  name  implies,  is  a  side  valley  or  inden 
tation  into  the  foot  hills,  like  a  bay  projecting 
from  a  larger  body  of  water,  in  which  the  land 
has  been  found  especially  adaptable  to  lemon 
growing.  Irrigation  is  necessary  to  all  this 
part  of  the  country,  the  water  in  this  particular 


74     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

section  being  taken  from  the  Kaweah  River, 
and  a  more  beautiful  farming  sight  than  is 
afforded  by  these  groves  would  be  hard  to  find. 
Thousands  upon  thousands  of  citrus  fruit 
trees,  lemons,  oranges  and  grape  fruit,  but 
mainly  the  first-named,  all  set  out  with  the 
greatest  precision  in  geometrically  arranged 
rows,  with  wide  spaces  between  the  trees  abso 
lutely  free  from  weeds,  and  the  bright,  glossy 
green  leaves  contrasted  with  the  color  of  the 
ripening  fruit,  make  a  pleasing  picture. 

The  village  of  Lemon  Cove  is  the  starting 
point  for  the  automobile  stage  to  Sequoia  Na 
tional  Park.  The  machines  are  comfortable 
and  the  roads  exceptionally  good  for  mountain 
regions.  Ten  miles  out  is  the  village  of  Three 
Rivers,  located  at  the  junction  of  the  north, 
south  and  middle  forks  of  the  Kaweah,  that 
unite  here  to  form  the  main  stream  of  this 
name.  The  middle  fork  is  the  one  that  is  fol 
lowed  almost  to  its  source  in  the  Sierras,  near 
the  Giant  Forest,  and  while  there  is  a  sprink 
ling  of  small  ranches  along  the  first  few  miles, 


"WAWONA,"  THE  TUNNELED  GIANT  REDWOOD  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 


SEQUOIA  NATIONAL  PARK  75 

the  land  is  so  rocky  as  to  prevent  their  develop 
ment  into  anything  of  much  consequence.  The 
Kaweah  is  a  small  stream,  but  the  valley  or 
gorge  through  which  it  runs  has  a  narrow  bot 
tom  and  widely  spreading  top,  the  walls  slop 
ing  gently  upward  in  a  succession  of  terraces. 
In  consequence  of  this,  it  is  interesting  to  ob 
serve  the  changing  character  of  the  tree  life 
along  the  route.  Up  to  an  altitude  of  3000  feet 
both  slopes  are  covered  with  Live-Oaks ;  thence 
to  4500  feet  is  a  belt  of  Black  Oaks,  Pines, 
Hemlocks  and  Firs ;  at  about  5000  feet  a  few 
scattered  specimens  of  Sugar  Pines  appear, 
and,  above  6000  feet,  the  Sequoia  Gigantea, 
or  Giant  Redwoods,  come  in,  first  in  single 
trees  here  and  there,  and  then  at  about  7000 
feet,  massed  in  groves. 

The  greatest  giant  in  this  collection,  in  fact 
the  largest  tree  in  the  world,  the  General 
Sherman,  stands  at  about  7000  feet  above  sea 
level.  Its  dimensions  are:  height,  279  feet; 
greatest  diameter,  36.5  feet;  circumference, 
103  feet.  In  the  same  vicinity  are  many  trees 


76     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

that  fall  not  far  short  of  these  measurements. 
Sometimes  they  stand  quite  alone,  in  majestic 
seclusion;  some  of  them  are  united  in  growth 
as  twins,  and  there  is  one  instance  of  three 
growing  in  such  close  union.  More  commonly 
they  are  found  in  groups  of  from  two  to  five 
separate  trees.  Very  near  Moro  Rock  one  of 
the  giants  fell  a  few  years  ago  and  a  platform 
has  now  been  built  up  to  it,  so  that  an  auto 
mobile  or  a  coach  may  be  driven  upon  it  and 
may  roam  up  and  down  the  trunk  of  the  fallen 
monarch  for  a  distance  of  200  feet. 

It  requires  five  hours  to  make  the  trip  from 
Lemon  Cove  to  the  Giant  Forest,  so  the 
afternoon  stage  arrives  just  in  time  for  supper 
and  generally  there  is  then  insufficient  light  to 
study  the  trees  at  all  well  that  day.  The  first 
impression  of  those  around  the  Camp,  there 
fore,  is  apt  to  be  of  shadowy  forms  of  immense 
trees  that  seem  to  rise  directly  into  the  skies. 
Retiring  to  your  tent,  after  a  pleasant  hour 
about  the  camp-fire,  you  will  gaze  up  at  the 
heavens  and  the  tufted  heads  of  the  Sequoias 


SEQUOIA  NATIONAL  PARK  77 

will  appear  to  be,  literally,  among  the  stars, 
the  uppermost  fronds  seeming  almost  to  touch 
them.  The  solemnity  of  the  scene  suggests 
the  feeling  of  being  in  the  transept  of  a  great 
Cathedral,  an  out-of-doors  sanctuary,  whose 
largest  spires  reach  straight  up  into  Heaven. 
Something  of  this  feeling  must  have  been  in 
the  mind  of  Miss  Olive  Simpson  when  she 
wrote  the  poem  that  now  decorates  the  Sher 
man  tree,  the  last  quatrain  of  which  reads: 

"When  beneath  its  boughs  you're  roaming, 

All  sacred  things  seem  near; 
The  balmy  breeze  blows  through  its  leaves, 

And  whispers,  God  is  here." 

Other  than  the  Sequoias  there  is  little  to  be 
seen  in  this  park  at  the  present  time.  Ulti 
mately,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  the  Government  will 
enlarge  the  precincts  to  take  in  the  similar 
grove  now  recognized  officially  as  the  General 
Grant  National  Park,  and,  in  addition,  that 
large  mountainous  tract  to  the  north  and  east 
which  embraces  the  King  and  Kern  River  dis 
tricts.  A  Bill  is  now  under  consideration  for 


78    TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

the  placing  of  all  this  in  what  is  to  be  known 
as  Roosevelt  National  Park,  and  when  this  has 
become  an  accomplished  fact  and  the  Park 
Service  can  open  it  up  by  the  construction  of 
proper  roads  and  trails,  another  very  attractive 
national  park  will  have  been  added  to  our 
already  remarkable  series.  Mt.  Whitney,  the 
highest  point  in  the  United  States,  except  in 
the  mountains  of  Alaska,  will  lie  in  this  park 
and  be  brought  into  easy  reach  of  the  traveler. 


CHAPTER  VI 
YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK 

"Still  lakes  of  silver,  streams  that  murm'ring  crept, 
Hills,  on  whose  sloping  brows  the  sunbeams  slept, 
Luxuriant  trees,  that  various  forms  display 'd, 
And  valleys,  grateful  with  refreshing  shade, 
Herbs,  flow'rets  gay  with  many  a  gaudy  dye, 
And  woods,  and  arching  grottoes  met  their  eye. 
What  more  than  all  enhanced  those  beauties  rare, 
Though  art  was  all  in  all,  no  signs  of  art  were  there ; 
Seem'd  as  if  nature  reign'd  in  every  part, 
Such  easy  negligence  was  mixed  with  art; 
Nature  herself,  in  frolic,  might  appear 
To  imitate  her  imitator  here." 

(The  Gardens  of  Armida,  by  TORQUATO  TASSO.) 

THOUGH  written  three  centuries  ago 
about  quite  a  different  place,  and  before 
the  white  man  had  penetrated  the  wilds  of  the 
Sierras,  this  verse  from  Tasso's  poem  aptly  de 
scribes  the  beauties  and  the  charms  of  pictur 
esque  Yosemite  National  Park.  Lakes  of 
silver;  aye,  and  of  many  more  brilliant  hues  ac 
cording  to  their  depth  and  the  play  of  sunlight 

79 


80    TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

upon  their  bosoms  or  the  reflection  of  clouds, 
and  of  the  verdure-clad  hills,  in  their  pellucid 
waters.  Streams  that  creep  murmuring  and 
streams  that  sing  loudly  and  merrily  as  they 
leap  madly  over  precipices  or  dash  with  reck 
less  speed  through  rocky  chasms.  Luxuriant 
trees  and  gaily  colored  flowers;  the  noble, 
stately  pines,  spruce  and  firs  that  look  like 
giant  Christmas  trees,  and,  flowers  that  range 
all  the  way  from  the  dainty  violet  to  the 
sturdy,  vivid  snow  plant.  And  woods;  who 
can  do  justice  to  the  marvelous  forest  of  Red 
woods? 

Nowhere  else  on  this  sphere  will  you  find 
within  so  limited  an  area  such  an  aggregation 
of  grandeur  and  of  delicate  natural  beauty  as 
is  to  be  seen  in  this  small  park,  an  area  of  little 
more  than  a  thousand  square  miles,  yet  em 
bracing  the  majestic  peaks  of  the  high  Sierras, 
a  most  charming  mountain  valley  literally 
crowded  with  wonderful  scenery,  and,  a  num 
ber  of  the  most  delicately  beautiful  water  falls 
in  existence.  The  imposing  architecture  of 


YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK  81 

nature  displayed  in  the  Cathedral  Spires,  the 
Sentinel  Rock,  or  the  commanding  El  Capitan 
would,  alone,  make  a  visit  to  Yosemite  worth 
while ;  but  there  are  many  other  equally  inter 
esting  things  to  be  observed,  the  semblance  of 
which  may  be  found  elsewhere,  but  the  exact 
like  of  which  exists  here  only.  Yosemite  Falls 
has  no  counterpart  elsewhere;  there  are  hun 
dreds  of  Bridal  Veil  Falls,  so  called,  but  none 
that  so  well  deserve  the  name  as  this  one;  the 
Merced  River  may  have  an  equal,  but  surely 
has  no  superior  in  point  of  beauty  or  interest. 
Yosemite  National  Park  is  located  in  the 
western-central  part  of  California,  only  a 
night's  ride  from,  and  about  midway  between, 
the  two  largest  cities  of  the  state,  San  Fran 
cisco  and  Los  Angeles.  It  covers  an  area  of 
1124  square  miles  and,  in  the  words  of  John 
Muir,  embraces  "The  headwaters  of  the 
Tuolumne  and  Merced  Rivers,  two  of  the 
most  songful  streams  in  the  world;  innumer 
able  lakes  and  waterfalls  and  smooth  silky 
lawns;  the  noblest  forests,  the  loftiest  granite 


82     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

domes,  the  deepest  ice-sculptured  canyons,  the 
brightest  crystalline  pavements,  and  snowy 
mountains  soaring  into  the  sky  twelve  arid  thir 
teen  thousand  feet,  arrayed  in  open  ranks  and 
spiry  pinnacled  groups  partially  separated  by 
tremendous  canyons  and  amphitheatres;  gar 
dens  on  their  sunny  brows,  avalanches  thun 
dering  down  their  long  white  slopes,  cataracts 
roaring  gray  and  foaming  in  the  crooked, 
rugged  gorges  and  glaciers  in  their  shadowy 
recesses  working  in  silence,  slowly  completing 
their  sculpture;  new-born  lakes  at  their  feet, 
blue  and  green,  free  or  encumbered  with 
drifting  ice-bergs  like  miniature  Arctic 
Oceans,  shining,  sparkling,  calm  as  stars. 

"Nowhere  will  you  see  the  majestic  opera 
tions  of  nature  more  clearly  revealed  beside  the 
frailest,  most  gentle  and  peaceful  things. 
Nearly  all  the  park  is  a  profound  solitude. 
Yet  it  is  full  of  charming  company,  full  of 
God's  thoughts,  a  place  of  peace  and  safety 
amid  the  most  exalted  grandeur  and  eager 
enthusiastic  action,  a  new  song,  a  place  of 


EL  CAPITAN  AND  THE  MERCED  RIVER,  YOSEMITE  VALLEY 


YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK  83 

beginnings  abounding  in  first  lessons  on  life, 
mountain  building,  eternal,  invincible,  un 
breakable  order ;  with  sermons  in  stone,  storms, 
trees,  flowers  and  animals  brimful  of  hu 
manity." 

The  famous  Yosemite  Valley  is  but  a  small 
part  of  this  wonderful  park,  a  mere  crack  in 
its  granite  mountains,  seven  miles  long  by  less 
than  one  mile  wide;  but  it  is  the  only  portion 
ever  seen  by  the  majority  of  visitors  to  the 
region  because  it  is  the  portion  most  accessible 
to  the  average  traveler ;  yet  it  is  quite  true  that 
even  in  this  limited  space  one  can  secure  a 
taste  of  all  the  various  delights  hinted  at  in  the 
above  description.  The  higher  Sierras  can  be 
reached  with  comparative  comfort  and  ease  in 
several  places,  and  the  recent  acquisition  by 
the  Government  of  the  Tioga  Road,  and  its 
opening  to  traffic,  has  made  it  easy  for  a  much 
larger  number  of  people  to  enjoy  some  of  the 
finest  mountain  scenery  in  America;  but,  the 
Valley  will  naturally  continue  to  be  the  chief 
attraction  and  the  most  frequented  spot  in  the 


84     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

Yosemite  National  Park.  The  average  trav 
eler  wishes  to  enjoy  his  scenery  without  any 
hardships  and  at  the  expense  of  the  least  at 
tendant  labor.  The  fact  that  he  can  be  trans 
ported  in  a  Pullman  to  the  very  gateway  of 
the  Valley  and  can  from  there  reach  his  hotel 
or  camp  by  a  comfortable  automobile-bus  ride, 
will  appeal  to  the  comfort-loving  sightseer  and 
the  beauties  of  the  higher  mountains  will  be 
left  to  the  more  hardy,  ambitious  and  less  self- 
satisfied  individuals. 

From  San  Francisco  you  may  take  a  night 
train,  by  either  the  Southern  Pacific  or  the 
Santa  Fe  Railroad,  both  pursuing  the  same 
course  through  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  and 
arrive  at  Merced  early  in  the  morning.  Corre 
sponding  northbound  trains  leave  Los  An 
geles  early  in  the  evening,  delivering  their 
passengers  also  at  Merced  in  time  for  break 
fast.  After  breakfast  in  that  city,  the  Hotel 
El  Capitan  having  the  best  restaurant  and 
being  only  a  few  minutes'  walk  from  the  depot, 
a  combination  train  is  made  up  and  the  jour- 


YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK  85 

ney  resumed  over  the  Yosemite  Valley  Rail 
road,  which  runs  from  Merced  to  El  Portal, 
a  distance  of  78  miles.  One  hour  is  allowed 
for  luncheon  at  Hotel  Del  Portal  and  the  auto- 
stages  start  at  noon  for  the  Yosemite  village, 
reaching  the  hotel  or  camps  in  about  two  hours. 
It  may  be  noted  that  all  railroad  tickets  be 
tween  San  Francisco  and  Los  Angeles  permit 
of  stop-over  at  Merced  for  the  side  trip  to 
Yosemite  and  that  transcontinental  season 
excursion  tickets,  even  when  reading  'Via 
Coast  Line,"  will  be  honored  by  way  of  Merced 
upon  request  to  the  Conductor.  From  either 
of  the  cities  mentioned  special  low-priced  ex 
cursions  to  Yosemite  are  advertised  at  inter 
vals  through  the  summer.  All  tickets  to  the 
Valley  include  the  stage  charge  from  railroad 
terminals  at  the  park  line  to  the  hotel  and 
camps  in  the  village.  Baggage  checked 
through  to  El  Portal  is  re-checked  to  hotel  or 
camp  by  the  auto-stage  line*  the  free  allow 
ance  being  150  pounds  on  the  railroads  and 
SO  pounds  on  the  coaches,  excess  on  the  latter 


86    TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

vehicles  being  at  the  rate  of  $1.00  per  hundred. 

From  Merced  to  El  Portal,  the  Yosemite 
Valley  Railroad  traverses  the  picturesque 
canyon  of  the  Merced  River  and  both  sides 
of  that  stream  are  marked  by  evidences  of  the 
placer  gold  mining  of  former  days.  The 
stamp  mills  of  several  of  the  larger  mines  now 
working  take  their  water  power  from  the  river, 
and  the  flumes,  one  more  than  a  mile  in  length, 
can  be  seen  from  the  cars.  The  stage  road 
from  El  Portal  is  a  hard,  smooth  macadam 
pavement  constructed  by  the  United  States 
Government,  paralleling  the  river,  and  for  ten 
miles,  to  the  true  entrance  to  the  Yosemite 
Valley,  it  runs  through  a  wild,  rocky  canyon. 

In  these  days,  when  the  automobile  is  so 
rapidly  becoming  a  common  vehicle  of  travel, 
an  equally  convenient  and  far  more  pleasant 
way  of  visiting  Yosemite  is  to  drive  there  over 
the  public  highway.  Of  course,  to  owners  of 
machines  this  plan  quite  naturally  appeals, 
but  their  less  fortunate  brethren  may  also  find 
it  possible  to  avail  themselves  of  the  privilege 


YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK  87 

as  it  is  possible  for  a  party  of  three  or  more 
to  hire  a  machine,  with  services  of  the  chauf 
feur,  and  make  the  round  trip  from  San  Fran 
cisco  for  almost  exactly  the  same  sum  of  money 
required  for  the  rail  and  stage  journey.  One 
night  must  be  spent  at  some  intermediate  point 
en  route,  but  a  comfortable  hotel  bed  is  better 
than  a  sleeping  car  berth  and  there  are  many 
other  obvious  advantages;  one  of  thesejs  the 
possible  greater  enjoyment  of  the  country  tra 
versed,  and  another  is  the  facility  with  which 
one  of  the  famous  redwood  forests  may  be 
visited.  The  automobile  Blue  Book  for  Cali 
fornia  will  furnish  the  necessary  detailed  in 
formation  regarding  the  route  from  any  part 
of  that  State  to  the  Valley,  and  from  San 
Francisco,  for  instance,  there  is  a  choice  of  sev 
eral  interesting  routes.  Thus,  one  may  follow 
practically  the  same  course  as  is  pursued  by 
the  railroad  to  Merced  and  then  strike  east 
ward  into  the  Valley  over  the  Coulterville 
Road.  Secondly,  the  Valley  entrance  may  be 
approached  from  the  north  by  way  of  Stock- 


88     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

ton  and  the  Big  Oak  Flat  Road,  visiting,  en 
route,  the  Tuolumne  Grove  of  Big  Trees. 
Or,  lastly,  and  perhaps  best  of  all,  you  may 
continue  east  on  the  broad  highway  to  Mari- 
posa  and  thence  to  the  Valley  by  the  Wawona 
Road.  The  last  named  route  is  recommended 
because  it  affords  an  opportunity  to  visit  the 
Mariposa  group  of  redwoods  in  the  park,  near 
Wawona,  the  finest  collection  of  these  giant 
trees  within  easy  reach,  and,  because  the  ap 
proach  to  the  Valley  from  this  side  gives  you 
the  most  impressive  and  comprehensive  first 
view  of  the  Yosemite  Valley,  that  from 
Inspiration  Point, 

THE  BIG  TREES 

Among  the  many  remarkable  things  to  be 
seen  on  a  trip  to  California  few  are  more 
interesting  and  instructive  than  the  famed 
redwood  trees,  at  once  the  biggest  and  the 
oldest  living  things  in  all  the  world.  The 
botanical  generic  name  for  these  trees  is 
"Sequoia,"  so  called  in  honor  of  a  distinguished 


YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK  89 

Cherokee  Indian  Chief,  and  there  are  two  prin 
cipal  varieties;  the  Sequoia  sempervirens,  or 
true  redwood,  which  grows  in  extensive  for 
ests  on  the  ocean  side  of  the  Coast  Range,  and 
the  Sequoia  gigantea,  the  real  Big  Tree,  which 
is  found  only  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  Mountains  and  usually  at  an  elevation 
of  from  4500  to  7000  feet.  Both  varieties 
are  evergreens,  resembling  the  pines  in  gen 
eral  characteristics,  with  a  soft,  thick  bark  of 
a  bright  cinnamon  color  whose  beauty  is  en 
hanced  by  the  fluted  markings  of  the  trunk. 

The  sempervirens,  or  redwood  of  commerce 
grows  in  forests  along  the  Pacific  Coast  from 
Monterey  northward  into  Oregon  and  they 
are  especially  easy  of  access  to  tourists  in  sev 
eral  places  near  San  Francisco;  for  instance, 
at  Santa  Cruz,  or  in  the  Muir  woods  on  Mt. 
Tamalpias.  They  obtain  a  height  of  200  feet 
and  a  diameter  of  more  than  20  feet  in  some 
specimens.  But  it  is  the  Big  Tree,  the  gigan 
tea,  that  John  Muir  denominated  "Nature's 
Forest  Masterpiece."  Nowhere  outside  of 


90     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

California  are  there  any  trees  that  can  ap 
proach  these  in  size,  reaching,  as  they  do  in 
many  specimens,  between  200  and  300  feet  in 
height  and  a  diameter  of  30  feet  or  more,  with 
a  consequent  circumference  of  approximately 
100  feet.  These  figures  do  not  refer  to  single 
exceptional  trees,  for  there  are  actually  whole 
groves  of  trees  having  such  dimensions.  Com 
parison  with  some  familiar  objects  may  make 
these  figures  more  impressive  to  the  mind :  the 
tree  named  General  Sherman  (in  the  Sequoia 
National  Park)  is  279  feet  high;  the  famous 
20-story  Flatiron  Building  at  the  intersection 
of  Fifth  Avenue,  Broadway  and  Twenty-third 
Street,  New  York  City,  is  but  ten  feet  higher. 
The  same  tree  has  a  diameter  of  36.5  feet, 
which  means  a  circumference  of  110  feet  and 
that  it  occupies  a  circular  area  on  the  earth's 
surface  equal  to  the  inside  square  of  a  tennis 
court.  It  has  been  calculated  that  one  of  these 
great  trees  could  be  cut  into  a  sufficient  num 
ber  of  one-inch  boards  to  completely  sheath  the 
Masonic  Temple  at  Chicago,  to  furnish  all  the 


Photo   by  Coii'tins.     Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  the 
National  Park  Service. 


BRIDAL  VEIL  FALLS,  YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK 


YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK  91 

lumber  necessary  in  the  construction  of  a 
building  large  enough  to  house  the  largest 
ocean  steamer  in  existence,  or,  to  supply  24 
miles  of  board  fence  six  feet  high.  A  six-horse 
passenger  coach  or  a  large  touring  car  may  be 
driven  up  and  down  the  length  of  a  fallen 
trunk  of  such  a  forest  monarch,  and  there  are 
several  standing,  living  trees  with  wagon  roads 
running  through  arched  ways  cut  in  then* 
crunks,  the  best  known  of  these  being  the  tree 
named  "Wawona." 

The  enormous  size  of  the  redwoods  is,  how 
ever,  but  one  of  their  many  interesting  points. 
It  is  scarcely  less  fascinating  to  consider  their 
antiquity.  It  seems  to  have  been  perfectly 
well  established  now  that  many  of  them  are 
over  5000  years  old  (some  are  supposed  to  be 
nearly  8000)  and  still  flourishing.  Perhaps 
they  have  not  yet  passed  the  meridian  of  their 
existence  for  they  still  possess  every  evidence 
of  a  sturdy,  vigorous  life.  They  were  hearty 
growing  trees  long  before  the  Tower  of  Babel 
or  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt  were  built  and 


92     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

they  bid  fair  to  outlive  many  of  the  most  en 
during  works  of  men  of  the  present  age.  Then 
all  the  varied  beauty  and  charm  of  the  pine 
forest,  a  charm  that  is  for  most  people  greater 
than  that  of  any  other  trees,  exists  in  those 
Sequoia  groves.  The  color  scheme  of  a  jungle 
of  redwoods  must  be  seen  to  be  believed,  so 
richly  beautiful  is  it  when  played  upon  by  the 
searching  rays  of  the  sun. 

There  are  three  large  groves  of  giant  red 
woods  in  the  Yosemite  region;  the  Mariposa, 
at  Wawona,  and  the  Merced  and  Tuolumne 
groves  on  the  Coulterville  Road  and  Big  Oak 
Flat  Road,  respectively,  en  route  to  the  Park 
entrance.  As  already  stated,  the  first  named 
is  the  best  grove  to  visit  for  several  reasons. 
The  largest  trees  and  the  largest  number  of 
large  trees  are,  however,  to  be  found  in  the 
Sequoia  National  Park  some  miles  south  of  the 
Yosemite  Reservation. 

YOSEMITE  VALLEY 

From  Wawona  to  Yosemite  Valley  is  a 
comparatively  short  trip  but  a  ride  filled  with 


YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK  93 

wondrous  thrills.  For  the  greater  part  of  the 
time  you  are  more  than  6000  feet  above  sea 
level,  you  feel  as  if  you  were  riding  along  a 
ridge  upon  the  very  top  of  the  world,  and  the 
changing  views  of  forest  clad  hills  and  inter 
vening  vales  induces  a  constant  succession  of 
the  most  delightful  sensations.  One  beautiful 
scene  follows  another  in  rapid  succession  until 
a  grand  climax  is  reached  in  the  first  view  of 
Yosemite  Valley  from  Inspiration  Point. 
Words  fail  to  convey  any  adequate  conception 
of  the  view  from  this  point.  The  long  valley 
lies  open  to  inspection  as  it  runs  almost  directly 
east  and  west  and  the  floor  of  the  valley  lies 
some  4000  feet  below  its  towering  walls  on 
either  side,  and  has  a  width  varying  from 
less  than  half  a  mile  to  little  more  than  one 
mile.  Consequently,  the  shadows  of  the  north 
wall  begin  to  fall  across  the  valley  early  in  the 
afternoon.  The  effect  is  most  artistic  and 
from  Inspiration  Point  it  appears  as  one  of 
the  most  striking  nature  pictures  conceivable. 
Four  thousand  feet  below  lies  a  beautiful 


94     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

green  carpeted,  well  wooded  valley,  threaded 
by  a  winding  river  that  maintains  nearly  a 
central  line.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  valley, 
on  the  left,  is  the  Yosemite  Fall,  one  of  the 
highest  in  the  world.  Nearer  at  hand,  on  the 
same  side,  is  El  Capitan,  unmistakably  the 
captain,  with  its  smoothly  polished  sides  and 
its  dominance  over  all  other  features.  On  the 
right  side,  in  the  distance,  is  Sentinel  Rock, 
scarcely  less  imposing  than  El  Capitan,  with  its 
sharp  pinnacle  of  brilliantly  lighted,  rugged 
surface  exposed  to  the  afternoon  sun,  while 
closer  on  this  side  is  the  dainty  Bridal  Veil 
Falls.  As  you  watch,  the  shadows  creep  slowly 
across  the  valley  and  commence  to  climb  its 
southern  wall  and  you  will  find  later,  when 
staying  in  the  valley,  that  it  is  a  favorite  pas 
time  to  watch  the  blue  shadows  creeping  up 
the  yellow  wall  of  Old  Sentinel,  gradually  but 
surely  engulfing  that  mountainous  mass  until 
only  the  very  peak  is  sharply  illuminated  by 
the  last  rays  of  the  setting  sun. 


YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK  95 

A  short  drive  accomplishes  the  drop  from 
Inspiration  Point  to  the  entrance  of  the  valley 
at  its  floor  level  and  then  as  you  ride  along  a 
perfect  roadway,  bordered  by  handsome  trees 
of  the  fir,  spruce  and  sugar  pine  species,  you 
may  more  closely  and  carefully  study  the  many 
beautiful  and  characteristic  features  of  this 
fairyland.  First,  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the 
road,  pause  to  look  at  the  Bridal  Veil  Falls 
and  you  are  fortunate  if  chance  discloses  this 
to  you  for  the  first  time  in  the  late  afternoon, 
for  in  those  hours  it  generally  exhibits  a  fine 
rainbow  in  its  spray.  The  name  "Bridal  Veil" 
was  given  to  it  because  there  is  always  a  breeze 
in  the  little  side  valley,  or  indentation  in  the 
wall,  where  it  flows  over,  that  blows  the  water 
out  from  the  rocks  and  causes  it  to  break  into  a 
long  streamer  of  spray  that  gives  one  the  im 
pression  of  a  floating  chiffon  veil.  As  this 
thin  spray  floats  out  into  the  sunshine  a  per 
fect  rainbow,  sometimes  a  double  rainbow,  is 
formed. 


96    TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

As  we  pass  along  opposite  the  Merced 
River,  a  beautiful  stream  of  perfectly  clear 
water  of  emerald  green  hue,  you  notice  that 
the  rocky  walls  present  many  fantastic  shapes 
carved  out  by  glacier  action  or  the  erosion  of 
the  elements  in  more  recent  periods ;  Cathedral 
Spires,  The  Three  Graces,  Three  Brothers, 
and  many  others  less  noticeable  perhaps  but 
equally  characteristic.  Soon,  on  the  left,  El 
Capitan  bursts  into  view  at  a  bend  in  the  road ; 
a  massive  wall  of  smooth,  dark  colored  granite 
rock  rising  sheer  from  the  river  side,  straight 
as  an  arrow,  for  4000  feet.  Beyond,  the  valley 
widens  somewhat  and  the  meadowland  beside 
the  river  presents  a  succession  of  flowers 
throughout  the  summer  months  which  add 
greatly  to  its  charm.  Numerous  good  camp 
ing  sites  exist  in  this  vicinity  and  these  are 
allotted  to  visitors,  who  must  first,  however, 
register  at  the  Superintendent's  office,  situated 
in  the  village  of  Yosemite.  Across  these 
meadows  you  will  receive  your  first  clear  view 
of  the  Yosemite  Falls,  a  beautiful  cataract  that 


YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK  97 

drops  2300  feet  in  three  separate  leaps;  the 
upper  portion  of  the  Falls  is  1300  feet,  the 
middle  section  about  400,  and  the  final  drop 
to  the  bed  of  the  Merced  is  600  feet.  The 
thundering  sound  produced  by  this  volume  of 
water  falling  from  such  a  height  can  be  heard 
for  a  long  distance  down  the  valley  and,  as 
there  is  always  more  or  less  wind  in  the  canyon- 
like  recess  that  it  has  carved  out  of  the  rock 
wall,  the  upper  section  of  the  cataract  is 
usually  seen  spread  out  in  a  whitened  sheet  of 
spray. 

Passing  through  the  village,  where  are  lo 
cated  the  Government  offices,  Post  Office,  gen 
eral  stores  and  the  Old  Sentinel  Hotel,  you 
may  cross  a  bridge  spanning  the  Merced  and, 
by  trail  through  the  woods,  approach  quite  to 
the  foot  of  the  Yosemite  Falls.  Within  a  few 
hundred  yards  of  these  Falls  a  new  Camp  has 
recently  been  established  and  the  plans  for  a 
new  and  modern  hotel  are  in  process  of  de 
velopment.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  valley, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  and  just  above 


98     TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

the  village,  is  the  well  known  Camp  Curry. 
These  two  camps  and  the  hotel,  in  conjunction 
with  the  privilege  granted  individuals  or  par 
ties  of  pitching  their  own  tents,  offer  visitors 
every  facility  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  park. 

Yosemite  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the 
only  one  of  our  national  parks  that  is  open 
throughout  the  entire  year.  An  excellent  op 
portunity  is  thus  presented  for  American  trav 
ellers  to  indulge  in  winter  sports  and  an  in 
creasing  interest  is  being  manifested  annually 
in  tobogganing,  skiing  and  skating.  If  this 
valley  may  justly  be  called  "fairy-land"  in 
summer,  think  what  a  charming  scene  it  pre 
sents  when  decorated  by  the  hand  of  the  Ice- 
king. 

Aside  from  rambles  afoot  or  drives  on  the 
floor  of  the  valley  there  are  a  number  of  moun 
tain  climbing  trips  made  available  by  trails 
suitable  for  either  horseback  or  walking  expe 
ditions.  The  most  popular  of  these  is  the 
ascent  to  Glacier  Point,  at  the  very  summit 
pf  the  northern  wall  and  commanding  a  view 


--, 


Boyseu.     Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  the 
National  Park  Service. 


EL  CAPITAN  IN  WINTER 


YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK  99 

not  only  over  the  entire  Yosemite  region  but 
for  many  miles  over  the  higher  Sierras.  A  new 
hotel  has  recently  been  opened  at  this  elevated 
site  and  every  visitor  should  spend  at  least  one 
night  up  there.  A  quadruple  reward  is 
granted  those  who  make  this  trip.  In  the  first 
place,  the  scenery  along  the  way  quite  repays 
one  for  his  trouble ;  the  trail  is  a  long  one  but 
neither  arduous  nor  dangerous.  Secondly,  the 
extensive  view  of  snow  clad  mountains  and 
high  peaks,  many  over  12,000  feet  high,  is  not 
to  be  equaled  elsewhere  in  this  country.  The 
third  and  fourth  prizes  are  the  possibilities  of 
witnessing  a  most  effective  and  sometimes  gor 
geous  sunset  and  sunrise. 

The  start  for  Glacier  Point  is  ordinarily 
made  at  7  A.M.,  when  camp  surreys  gather  up 
the  people  from  hotel  and  camps  for  a  ride 
to  Mirror  Lake.  At  this  hour,  before  the  sun 
has  gotten  high,  the  reflections  in  this  small 
mountain  lake  are  quite  pretty;  Mt.  Watkins, 
particularly,  being  clearly  outlined  in  the  clear, 
smooth  water.  The  drive  is  then  continued 


100  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

around  to  Happy  Isles,  a  series  of  small,  well 
wooded  islands  that  have  been  formed  by  the 
cutting  action  of  the  Merced  River,  and  which 
constitute  a  very  delightful  picnicing  ground. 
Here  the  carriages  are  abandoned  and  the  trail 
climb  on  foot  or  horseback  commences.  The 
course  of  the  river  is  followed  towards  one  of 
its  sources  and  this  stream  must  be  crossed 
several  times.  At  one  of  these  crossings  a 
view  upstream  discloses  the  wonderfully  beau 
tiful  Vernal  Falls.  The  variety  of  cataracts 
in  Yosemite,  each  a  gem  in  itself,  is  amazing. 
The  Bridal  Veil  and  the  Yosemite  Falls  proper 
have  been  mentioned,  but  on  this  trip  you  will 
observe  two  others,  Vernal  and  Nevada,  which 
are  equally  as  attractive.  In  fact,  there  is 
often  discussion  in  Yosemite  as  to  which  of  the 
many  falls  deserves  to  be  considered  most 
worthy  of  special  honors.  Like  most  other 
contests  of  this  sort  the  discussion  properly 
ends  in  disagreement.  Each  is  beautiful  or 
interesting  in  its  own  way.  Yosemite  is  one 
of  the  very  highest  known  waterfalls;  Bridal 


Plwto  by  Cowl  ins.     Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  the 
National  Park  Service. 


VERNAL  FALLS,  YOSEMITE  XATIOXAL  PARK 


YOSEMITE  NATIONAL  PARK  101 

Veil  possesses  to  a  striking  degree  the  charac 
teristics  that  gave  it  the  name ;  Vernal  is  like  a 
miniature  Niagara;  and  Nevada,  with  its 
pretty  leap  clear  and  free  of  the  mountain  ( so 
that  you  can  walk  under  and  between  it  and 
the  wall  over  which  it  flows)  to  the  rocky  table 
land  below,  is  attractive  for  its  own  peculiar 
style. 

Without  invidious  comparisons,  one  may 
honestly  say  of  Yosemite  that  nowhere  else  in 
the  world  can  you  find  within  such  a  limited 
and  easily  accessible  territory,  so  great  and  so 
perfect  an  array  of  exquisitely  delicate  and 
artistic  natural  beauty.  From  this  point  of 
view  it  is  unquestionably  the  chief  of  our 
National  Parks. 


CHAPTER   VII 
CRATER  LAKE  NATIONAL  PARK 

"Girt  round  with  rugged  mountains 
The  fair  Lake  Constance  lies; 
In  her  blue  heart  reflected, 

Shine  back  the  starry  skies; 
And  watching  each  white  cloudlet 

Float  silently  and  slow, 
You  think  a  piece  of  Heaven 
Lies  on  our  earth  below." 

ADELAIDE  ANNE  PROCTOR. 

THE  northwestern  section  of  tfie  United 
States  is  no  whit  less  interesting  than  the 
southwestern,  though  there  is  a  striking  con 
trast  between  the  volcanic  mountain  ranges  of 
the  former  and  the  eroded  desert  land  of  the 
latter.  Each  district  presents  its  own  marvels 
and  each  offers  you  the  privilege  of  studying 
the  finest  existing  specimens  of  its  own  par 
ticular  wonders.  In  contrast  to  the  arid  land 
of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  the  state  of  Ore 
gon  presents  a  mountain  that  was  swamped  by 

103 


104  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

water.  As  against  the  greatest  crevasse  in  the 
earth's  surface,  the  Grand  Canyon,  the  state 
of  Washington  offers  the  great  height  and  vast 
glaciers  of  Mt.  Rainier. 

Medford,  Oregon,  is  the  railroad  gateway 
to  the  Crater  Lake  National  Park  and  is 
reached  by  a  night  journey  from  San  Fran 
cisco.  The  route  is  via  Sacramento,  thence 
northward  through  the  upper  Sacramento 
River  valley  and  the  Siskiyou  mountains,  a 
beautiful  hilly  country  interspersed  with  well 
cultivated  rich  valleys.  Medford  is  a  typical 
new  western  city,  the  largest  in  Oregon  south 
of  Portland,  and  well  worth  a  tour  of  inspec 
tion.  All  the  streets  are  asphalted,  there  is  a 
distinct  air  of  business  hustle  about  everything, 
the  hotels,  Public  Library  and  the  University 
Club,  on  the  main  street,  lend  an  air  of  sub 
stantial  progress,  and  many  of  the  houses  are 
rendered  quite  attractive  by  a  profusion  of 
flowers  in  their  small  gardens  and  clambering 
over  the  porches. 


CRATER  LAKE  NATIONAL  PARK         105 

The  auto-bus  ride  from  Medford  to  the 
park  covers  a  distance  of  86  miles;  almost  an 
entire  day's  journey  in  the  present  state  of 
the  roads  but  there  will  soon  be  a  time,  not  far 
distant  it  is  to  be  hoped,  when  the  excellent 
macadam  boulevard  that  starts  eastward  from 
the  city  will  run  all  the  way  to  the  park  bound 
ary,  The  first  stage  of  the  trip  is  through  a 
very  fertile  fruit  growing  district,  one  of  the 
great  pear  producing  regions  of  the  west.  The 
"Modoc  Ranch,"  belonging  to  Mr.  Potter 
Palmer,  of  Chicago,  is  said  to  contain  the  larg 
est  pear  orchard  in  the  world.  It  is  in  the 
valley  of  the  Rogue  River  and  the  park  road 
runs  along  the  banks  of  this  stream  almost  to 
its  source,  presenting  many  glimpses  of  the 
river,  sometimes  close  to  the  road,  sometimes 
at  the  bottom  of  a  canyon  500  to  700  feet  be 
low.  At  one  point  there  is  a  view  of  the  Mills 
Creek  Falls  (drop  of  150  feet),  a  pretty  cas 
cade  on  a  tributary  of  the  Rogue. 

As  you  know,  the  entire  Cascade  Range  of 
mountains  was  once  upon  a  time  a  series  of 


106  TOUR  QF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

active  volcanoes.  Among  the  greatest  of  these 
were  Mt.  Baker,  Mt.  Rainier,  Mt.  Adams,  Mt. 
St.  Helens,  Mt.  Hood,  Mt.  Shasta  and  Mt. 
Lassens,  all  approaching  14,000  feet  in  height. 
Geologists  tell  us  that  there  was  one  greater 
than  all  the  others,  to  which  they  have  given 
the  name  of  Mt.  Mazama,  which  was  never 
seen  but  is  supposed  to  have  occupied  the  site 
of  this  Crater  Lake  Mountain  and  must  have 
been  15,000  feet  high,  judging  by  the  known 
dimensions  of  the  base,  the  area  covered  by  the 
lava  outpourings  and  the  angle  of  the  con 
verging  lines  upward  from  the  base  to  the 
probable  position  of  the  cone.  That  it  was  a 
volcanic  mountain  of  enormous  size  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  but,  of  course,  this  estimated 
height  is  purely  speculative.  There  is,  how 
ever,  evidence  on  every  hand  of  its  great  activ 
ity  in  ancient  times  and  you  may  readily 
imagine  the  intense  final  outburst  that  blew 
off  the  peak.  Whether  or  not  this  is  the  true 
explanation  of  the  destruction  of  the  head  of 
Mazama  and  the  formation  of  the  present  large 


CRATER  LAKE  NATIONAL  PARK        107 

crater  cavity  is  open  to  dispute  and  some  geol 
ogists  incline  rather  to  the  opinion  that  a  lat 
eral  break  occurred  somewhere  on  the  moun 
tain  side,  which  permitted  the  fiery  molten  lava 
to  flow  off  in  a  great  stream  and  that  the  loss 
of  support  within,  combined  with  external  air 
pressure,  caused  the  upper  walls  of  the  cone 
to  give  way  and  cave  in ;  the  volcano  thus  swal 
lowing  its  own  peak.  This  would  seem  the 
more  plausible  explanation. 

The  smoldering  mass  buried  in  the  pit  of  the 
volcano  continued  moderately  active  for  a  time 
and  produced  two  or  three  eruptions  of  minor 
importance,  in  one  of  which  the  so-called 
Wizard  Island  was  formed  inside  the  crater. 
Wizard  Island  is  in  itself  a  miniature  volcano, 
cone-shaped  and  with  a  definite  crater  in  its 
peak,  that  was  produced  in  this  dying  expira 
tion  of  Mazama  like  a  bubble  of  escaping  gas 
through  a  mass  of  cooling  substance  of  doughy 
consistency. 

The  immense  crater  formed  by  the  collapse 
of  Mazama's  peak  has  a  diameter  of  six  miles 


108  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

and  its  slightly  irregular  circumference  line 
measures  about  30  miles;  while  it  has  a  meas 
ured  depth  of  3000  feet.  In  the  course  of 
time,  following  the  end  of  the  glacial  period, 
perhaps,  this  enormous  cavity  became  partially 
filled  with  water,  so  that  there  exists  today  a 
lake  more  than  2000  feet  deep,  surrounded  by 
walls  rising  abruptly  1000  feet  higher  to  its 
rim.  In  the  midst  of  this  lake  stands  Wizard 
Island,  the  peak  of  whose  cone  does  not  quite 
reach  the  level  of  the  great  crater  rim,  and, 
another  small  mass  of  volcanic  rock  of  such 
shape  and  dimensions  as  to  have  suggested  its 
name  of  the  "Phantom  Ship."  Upon  the 
placid,  mirror-like  surface  of  this  lake  you 
may  enjoy  the  unique  experience  of  drifting 
about  inside  the  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano, 
studying  the  curiously  constructed  inner  sur 
face  of  its  walls.  The  space  now  occupied  by 
this  extraordinarily  beautiful  body  of  water 
was  once  filled  by  a  sea  of  boiling  liquid  fire, 
an  inferno  of  flame;  it  was  like  the  interior  of 
a  gigantic  blast  furnace.  The  precipitous 


CRATER  LAKE  NATIONAL  PARK        109 

walls,  now  cooled  off  and  curiously  carved  by 
the  rains  and  snows  and  melting  ice  of  past 
ages,  disclose  fantastic  forms  as  the  rock  has 
been  cut  into  pinnacles  and  domes,  into  jutting 
promontories  and  receding  caves,  separated  in 
some  places  by  a  broad  area  of  smooth,  sandy 
planes  where  a  land  or  snow  slide  has  swept 
everything  before  it.  Then,  imagine  these 
wonderfully  carved  walls  painted  by  the  Mas 
ter  artist  in  all  the  soft,  delicate  shades  of 
color  known  to  Nature;  all  the  tones  of  gray, 
of  the  pale  greens  and  yellows,  the  orange  and 
old  rose  tints.  Nor  is  all  of  this  rocky  wall 
bare.  By  no  means.  Probably  one-fourth  of  it 
is  well  wooded,  having  a  growth  of  pine  and 
cedar  and  fir ;  handsome  specimens  of  the  latter 
that  must  be  at  least  500  years  old.  Under  the 
bright  sunshine,  with  masses  of  white  clouds 
overhead  and  the  deep  blue  of  the  lake  beneath 
you,  the  play  of  light  on  the  dark  green  of  the 
trees  and  the  lighter  colors  of  the  rock  and 
sand,  constitutes  an  ever-changing  color  spec 
tacle  that  baffles  description. 


110  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

There  is  a  good,  easy  trail  from  the  hotel, 
Crater  Lake  Lodge,  over  the  rim  and  down  to 
the  water's  edge,  where  boats  may  be  obtained 
for  a  trip  to  Wizard  Island,  the  Phantom  Ship, 
or  around  and  about  the  lake.  From  this  trail, 
which  is  one  and  a  quarter  miles  long  in  order 
to  attain  the  drop  of  1000  feet  from  rim  to 
lake  surface,  many  beautiful  vistas  may  be  ob 
tained.  Resting  places  have  been  made  on 
projecting  rock  ledges,  under  the  shade  of 
great  fir  trees,  and  the  walk,  either  down  or  up 
the  trail,  is  thus  made  a  pleasurable  experience. 
An  excellent  driveway  is  now  in  process  of 
construction  around  the  lake,  so  that  it  will 
soon  be  possible  to  drive  an  automobile  entirely 
around  the  rim,  the  distance  covered  being 
about  36  miles.  At  many  points  the  roadway 
will  touch  the  rim  at  its  higher  spots,  affording 
excellent  views  of  the  lake  from  the  best  van 
tage  points.  This  trip,  combined  with  the  ex 
cursion  on  the  lake  will  bring  you  in  close 
touch  with  all  the  marvelous  beauty  of  the 
region.  Trails  are  also  being  built  to  the  tops 


mum 

Photo  copyright  by  Fred  II.  Kiser,  Portland,  Oregon. 

THE  PHANTOM  SHIP,  CRATER  LAKE  NATIONAL  PARK 


CRATER  LAKE  NATIONAL  PARK         111 

of  some  of  the  neighboring  mountains  that 
command  good  views  of  the  lake  and  the  coun 
try  in  all  directions  for  many  miles.  From 
Garfield  Peak,  to  the  east,  or  the  Watchman 
and  Mt.  Hilman,  to  the  west,  it  will  be  possible 
to  look  over  the  Lake  Klamath  region  to  Mt. 
Shasta  in  the  south;  over  a  goodly  part  of 
eastern  Oregon;  and  over  the  Cascades  for 
fifty  miles  west  and  north.  A  trip  to  this  park 
will  not,  therefore,  be  limited  to  inspection  of 
Crater  Lake,  but  will  afford  the  opportunity 
to  climb  mountains  or  to  make  side  trips  to 
many  other  interesting  points,  such  as  Dia 
mond  Lake,  Sand  Creek  Canyon  (with  its 
hundreds  of  curious  sandstone  pinnacles  like 
ghosts),  and  the  Klamath  Indian  Reservation. 
The  hunter,  as  well  as  the  nature  lover,  will 
find  this  an  interesting  field.  Crater  Lake  is 
stocked  with  rainbow  trout.  The  streams  and 
marshes  of  the  Klamath  country  abound  in 
wild  bird  game,  and  bears  and  deer  roam  all 
over  the  nearby  forests.  Crater  Lake  having 
been  formed  in  the  manner  described,  and  hav- 


112  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

ing  no  connection  with  other  bodies  of  water; 
having  neither  inlet  nor  outlet,  save  for  the 
receipt  of  rain  and  snow  and  the  escape  of 
water  by  evaporation,  there  was,  naturally,  no 
life  in  its  waters.  Some  30  years  ago,  the 
Hon.  William  Gladstone  Steel,  the  "Father 
of  Crater  Lake  Park/'  a  man  whose  name 
means  much  to  every  one  interested  in  the  es 
tablishment  and  development  of  our  National 
Park  system,  introduced  the  rainbow  trout  to 
this  lake,  carrying  them  in  a  tin  pail  all  the 
way  from  Medf ord.  There  was  only  an  Indian 
trail  in  those  days  and  it  required  three  days 
to  cover  the  distance  by  walking.  Frequently 
on  the  way  he  stopped  at  springs  to  change  the 
water  on  his  little  fish  and  at  night  he  would 
bury  the  bucket  at  the  edge  of  a  stream,  in 
such  way  that  it  could  receive  a  gentle  inflow 
of  water,  but  the  fish  could  not  escape.  Start 
ing  with  two  dozen,  he  succeeded  in  getting 
more  than  half  of  them  to  the  lake  alive,  where 
he  set  them  free  in  its  waters.  It  was  a  long 
time  before  they  were  heard  from  again,  but 


CRATER  LAKE  NATIONAL  PARK         113 

eventually  his  experiment  proved  to  have  been 
a  success,  and  today  there  is  an  abundant  sup 
ply  of  trout  in  this  lake.  Tourists  are  allowed 
to  catch  not  more  than  five  in  one  day.  Mr. 
Steel  continues  his  interest  in  the  subject  and 
is  still  engaged  in  studying  the  best  means  of 
feeding  them ;  it  being  necessary  to  maintain  a 
supply  of  crawfish  or  minnows  for  them  to 
feed  upon  because  the  waters  are  free  of  all 
other  life. 

The  Klamath  Indians  held  a  superstition 
that  the  lake  was  inhabited  by  marine  monsters 
and  they  have  handed  down  an  interesting 
legend  concerning  one  of  the  high  points  on 
the  rim.  They  believe  that  this  rock  was  the 
abode  of  Llao,  a  powerful  demon  who  held 
sway  over  the  mysterious  waters  of  the  lake. 
His  retainers  were  mighty  crawfish  that  could 
seize  in  their  cruel  claws  any  who  dared  to 
appear  on  these  heights.  Against  this  power 
ful  Chieftain  was  arrayed  an  equally  strong 
spirit  named  Skell,  who  dwelt  in  the  neighbor 
ing  Klamath  marshes  and  who  waged  unrelent- 


114  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

ing  war  upon  Llao.  For  a  long  time  Llao 
proved  triumphant  and  once,  having  captured 
Skell,  he  tore  his  heart  out  and  gave  it  to  his 
minions  to  play  with.  They  hurled  it  from 
peak  to  peak  of  the  mountains  in  wild  sport 
until  one  of  Skell's  eagles  made  a  sudden 
swoop  through  the  air  and,  catching  the  heart- 
ball,  flew  away  with  it.  Being  chased  too  hotly, 
he  passed  it  to  a  friendly  deer  who  ran  with 
the  speed  of  the  wind  and,  together,  this  pair 
succeeded  in  carrying  Skell's  heart  to  a  place 
of  safety.  Here  a  new  body  for  Skell  was 
miraculously  grown  about  his  heart,  and  once 
again  he  set  forth  ready  to  do  battle  with  his 
old  enemy.  This  time  he  resorted  to  cunning 
and,  from  ambush,  he  one  day  captured  Llao, 
cut  him  into  shreds  and  cast  him  into  the  lake. 
The  hungry  crawfish,  surprised  by  this  unex 
pected  shower  of  food,  and  supposing  it  to  be 
some  of  the  demolished  remnants  of  Skell  or  of 
his  cohorts,  cast  to  them  by  their  own  Chief, 
proceeded  to  devour  their  leader  and  did  not 
discover  the  error  until  Llao's  head  was  thrown 


Photo  by  Riser,  Portland,  Oregon. 


CRATER  LAKE  TROUT 


CRATER  LAKE  NATIONAL  PARK        115 

to  them  as  a  final  morsel.  Then,  in  sheer  hor 
ror  and  grief  they  all  died.  The  head  of  Llac 
remains  as  an  island  (Wizard  Island)  in  the 
lake  but  the  whereabouts  of  Skell  are  at  pres 
ent  unknown. 

The  beautiful,  wonderful,  incredible  color  of 
Crater  Lake  water  has  been  reserved  for  con 
sideration  until  the  last  word.  Much  of  the 
fascinating  beauty  of  this  lake,  walled  about 
with  rainbow  colored  cliffs,  is  due  to  the  un 
usual  blue  of  the  water.  In  attempting  to  de 
scribe  this  color  one  is  stumped  by  the  fact 
that  there  is  absolutely  nothing  with  which  to 
compare  it.  It  is  not  the  blue  of  the  sky  nor 
of  any  other  body  of  water;  Lake  Tahoe,  in 
California,  resembles  it.  It  is  not  the  blue  of 
indigo  nor  of  any  other  known  chemical  sub 
stance.  It  is  not  a  fixed  and  permanent  shade 
of  blue  under  all  circumstances,  but,  while  al 
ways  rich  and  beautiful,  varies  under  changing 
conditions  of  light  from  the  palest  imaginable 
blue  to  the  deepest  royal  blue,  shading  off  into 
a  purple  that  is  almost  black.  It  may  exhibit 


116  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

all  these  tints  within  a  few  hours.  With  a  fog 
hanging  over  the  rim  and  dipping  into  the 
crater,  and  a  light  wind  rippling  the  surface, 
you  may  see  the  dark  blue  center  bordered  by 
an  area  of  bronze,  while  near  the  shore  line 
the  indigo  hue  shades  off  into  an  emerald  green. 
When  the  fog  lifts  and  the  sun  comes  through 
the  light  clouds,  the  whole  sheet  of  water  be 
comes  a  navy  blue.  When  a  rise  in  the  wind 
produces  some  white-caps  on  the  lake  surface, 
the  light  transmitted  through  these  waves  will 
give  a  delicate,  soft  light-blue  like  the  cerulean 
heavens. 

It  is  said  that  all  large  bodies  of  perfectly 
clear  water  will  be  green  in  the  shallow  por 
tions  and  blue  in  the  greater  depths.  This 
is  well  demonstrated  at  Lake  Tahoe,  where  all 
gradations  from  pale  green,  in  close  to  the 
shore,  to  a  very  dark  blue,  in  the  middle  of  the 
lake.,  is  seen.  At  Crater  Lake  there  is  very 
little  shallow  water  to  study ;  ten  feet  from  the 
shore  will,  in  most  places,  give  a  sounding  of 
HOOO  feet  or  more  depth.  Consequently,  there 


CRATER  LAKE  NATIONAL  PARK        117 

is  but  a  very  narrow  streak  of  greenish  water 
ever  observable  from  any  point,  and  the  excep 
tional  depth  of  the  entire  lake  gives  it  a  mar- 
velously  blue  color. 

Remember  that  there  is  no  lake  its  equal  in 
depth;  no  other  lake  of  such  size  occupying 
the  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano ;  no  other  lake 
surrounded  by  such  artistically  colored,  rugged 
mountain  walls ;  and  no  other  body  of  water  of 
such  a  wonderful,  indescribable  blue.  This 
coloring,  varying  from  a  faint  turquoise  to  the 
deepest  indigo  blue,  makes  Crater  Lake  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in  America. 


CHAPTER   VIII 
MT.  RAINIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

(Mt.   Rainier:   "The  Mountain  That  Was  God") 

"Let  me  often  to  these  solitudes 
Retire,  and  in  Thy  presence  reassure 
My  feeble  virtue.     Here  its  enemies, 
The  passions,  at  Thy  plainer  footsteps  shrink 
And  tremble  and  are  still." 

A.   H.  BARNES. 

4  4rpHE  mountain  that  was  God."  That 
-••  is  the  old  Indian  appellation  for  Mt. 
Rainier  and  it  is  an  elegant  and  appropriate 
name.  In  their  superstitious  state  they  looked 
upon  it  with  suspicion  and  fear,  dreading  what 
it  might  do  to  them,  considering  it  a  power 
for  evil  ready  to  wreak  vengeance  upon  them 
if  they  dared  approach  it  too  closely  or  failed 
to  exhibit  proper  reverence  for  its  majesty. 
Our  boasted  intelligence  and  education  has  not 

119 


120  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

entirely  disposed  of  that  inherent  sense  of  awe 
which  the  human  being  experiences  when  com 
ing  into  the  presence  of  such  a  serenely  sub 
lime,  God-like  mountain;  a  mountain  that, 
unlike  most  others,  stands  quite  alone,  a  giant 
in  stature  (14,408  feet  tall)  with  his  feet  firmly 
planted  on  the  broad  plain  of  the  Pacific  Coast, 
the  upper  two-thirds  of  his  body  clothed  in  a 
snowy  white  garment,  with  faint  stripes  of 
pale  green,  blue  and  red  shot  through  it,  and 
wearing  on  his  head  a  smooth  pearly  white 
cap  that  glistens  and  scintillates  in  the  bright 
sunshine  of  Heaven.  The  Indians  feared  it 
because  of  its  bad  days,  those  days  when  it 
emitted  flame  and  smoke  and  ashes,  and  pro 
duced  devastation  in  the  immediate  surround 
ings.  The  white  man  worships  it,  not  alone 
because  of  its  transcendent  beauty,  but,  be 
cause  the  lava  ash  it  once  threw  out  is  now 
recognized  as  most  fertile  soil,  and  the  immense 
snow  and  ice  fields  that  cover  its  sloping  sides 
supply  water  for  the  farms  and  factories  in  a 
vast  area  of  the  northwest  country.  Every 


MT.  RAINIER  NATIONAL  PARK          121 

year  its  dispensation  of  benefits  increases  and 
a  rapidly  growing  population  receives  largess 
directly  or  indirectly  from  it.  Every  year,  too, 
it  claims  its  victims  as  well.  Occasionally  it 
behaves  like  the  fabled  God  that  must  be  pro 
pitiated  by  human  sacrifice;  not  infrequently 
some  mountain  climber  walks  into  a  snow-cov 
ered  crevasse  on  one  of  its  glaciers  and  is  lost. 
The  old  Indians  could  not  be  induced  to  walk 
upon  these  ice  fields;  their  successors  on  the 
stage  may  be  wiser  but  are  often  more  fool 
hardy  and,  sometimes,  pay  a  dreadful  penalty 
for  braving  the  ice-demon.  Perhaps  there  are 
two  powerful  agencies  at  work  on  this  moun 
tain  ;  a  God  that  dispenses  bounties  and  bless 
ings,  and  a  Demon  that  punishes  the  careless 
and  foolish. 

Mt.  Rainier  is  most  easily  approached  from 
Tacoma  or  Seattle  by  fine  automobile  high 
way,  or  by  railway  to  Ashford,  whence  an 
auto-stage  runs  to  and  through  the  park.  Six 
miles  from  the  park  entrance  is  the  first  stop 
ping  place — Longmire  Springs.  If  you  are 


122  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

equal  to  it,  leave  the  coach  at  the  entrance  to 
the  park  and  walk  to  Longmire.  The  roadway 
is  lined  by  handsome  Pines,  Hemlocks,  Firs 
and  Spruces,  is  completely  shaded,  and  the 
walking  is  cool  and  pleasant  on  even  the  hottest 
days.  The  Fir  tree  predominates  and  some 
specimens  of  the  Noble  Fir  attract  special 
attention,  rising  as  they  do  in  many  instances 
to  the  height  of  200  feet,  straight  as  an  arrow, 
and  without  a  limb  lower  than  100  feet  from 
the  ground.  Glancing  between  the  trees  you 
will  observe  that  the  forest  on  either  side  of 
the  road  is  very  dense,  almost  jungle-like  in 
the  close  growth  of  these  trees  and  the  mass 
of  underbrush,  moss  and  ferns.  There  is  a 
great  deal  of  fallen  timber  and  here  and  there 
lies  a  giant  tree,  a  monarch  of  the  forest  that 
in  his  fallen  state  looks  like  a  Brobdignagian 
Giant  become  victim  to  the  Lilliputians,  for  it 
is  literally  covered  with  a  new  growth  of  moss, 
ferns  and  small  shrubs. 

In  the  first  three  miles  of  this  walk  you  will 
cross   two   mountain   streams,    Tahoma   and 


THROUGH  THE  FIR  FOREST  TO  MT.  RANIER  NATIONAL  PARK 


MT.  RAINIER  NATIONAL  PARK          123 

Kautz  Creeks,  both  rushing  torrential  streams 
of  milky- white  water,  from  the  glaciers  bearing 
those  same  names.  As  Longmire  Springs  is 
approached,  the  great  mountain  comes  into 
view  for  the  first  time  at  Bear  Point,  at  a  bend 
in  the  road,  and  as  it  suddenly  appears  through 
a  vista  in  the  tree-lined  way  it  makes  an  in 
spiring  picture. 

James  Longmire  was  one  of  the  early  pros 
pectors  in  this  region  and  on  discovering  some 
mineral  springs  with  health-restoring  proper 
ties,  he  staked  a  claim  and  secured  proprietary 
rights  to  a  section  of  land  on  which  they  are 
located.  This  site  has  recently  been  leased  by 
the  Rainier  National  Park  Company  and  a 
small,  modern  hotel,  the  Longmire  Hotel,  has 
been  erected  for  the  entertainment  of  healthy 
tourists,  as  well  as  those  who  desire  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  healing  powers  of  the  waters 
from  the  iron  and  sulphur  springs.  Almost 
directly  opposite  is  the  National  Park  Inn,  a 
very  comfortable,  home-like  hotel,  from  the 
front  porch  of  which  you  may  have  a  very  good 


124  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

view  of  the  south  side  of  the  great  mountain. 
Under  the  influence  of  that  demoniac  spirit 
that  causes  American  travelers  to  rush  through 
to  the  main  place,  or  to  the  great  climax  of 
their  journey,  a  large  percentage  of  those  vis 
iting  this  park  pass  Longmire  Springs,  or  stop 
only  long  enough  to  have  a  meal  or  a  night's 
lodging,  and  go  straight  to  Paradise  Valley. 
In  doing  so,  they  overlook  the  fact  that  some 
of  the  most  important  trails  in  the  park  start 
from  this  village  and  lead  to  much  of  Hainier's 
grandest  scenery.  The  tramp  has  every  ad 
vantage  over  the  tourist  who  sticks  to  the  trans 
portation  companies.  The  proper  way  to  see 
Rainier  is  to  send  your  bags  from  one  hotel  to 
another  by  stage,  and  for  yourself — walk. 
The  most  inviting  trails  branch  off  from  the 
road  in  every  direction  and  most  of  these  lead 
to  glorious  discoveries.  You  should  make  one 
of  the  above  mentioned  hotels  your  headquar 
ters  for  a  week  and  walk  over  the  roads  and 
trails  to  the  most  important  places  in  this 
park. 


MT.  RAINIER  NATIONAL  PARK          125 

To  harden  your  muscles  and  prepare  for 
the  longer  tramps,  spend  the  first  few  days  in 
visiting  the  nearest  places  of  interest.  First, 
follow  the  highway  to  Nisqually  Glacier,  a  dis 
tance  of  five  miles;  the  foot  of  this  glacier  is 
not  very  pretty,  being  so  dirt-covered  as  to 
appear  rather  unsightly.  Then,  on  successive 
days,  make  the  ascent  of  the  Ramparts,  a 
rocky  cliff  that  bounds  the  west  side  of  this 
plateau,  and  of  Eagle  Peak,  that  rises  majes 
tically  on  the  east.  There  is  good  trail  to  each 
of  these  points,  the  last  named  being  rather 
steep,  and  the  rewards  are  wonderful  views  of 
the  surrounding  country.  It  is  like  gazing 
down  from  a  height  upon  an  immense  relief 
map.  Mountains  and  more  mountains,  in 
every  direction  encircling  and  covering  the 
land  within  a  radius  of  fifty  miles;  the  great 
snow-capped,  symmetrical  peaks  of  Mt. 
Adams  and  Mt.  St.  Helens  standing  out  espe 
cially  prominent. 

Being  prepared  for  the  longer  trails  and 
higher  climbing,  the  two  most  enticing  trips  to 


126  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

consider  are  those  to  Van  Trump  Park  and 
to  Indian  Henry's  Hunting  Grounds.  The 
first  is  reached  by  following  the  road  almost  to 
the  foot  of  Nisqually  Glacier,  leaving  the 
highway  and  striking  into  the  woods  at  the 
base  of  Christine  Falls,  a  very  charming  little 
cataract  where  Van  Trump  Creek  empties  into 
the  Nisqually  River,  and  climbing  over  the 
shoulder  of  Cushman  mountain.  The  trail  fol 
lows  the  course  of  the  stream  and  there  are 
several  picturesque  views  to  cheer  you  on  as 
you  must  climb  something  like  2200  feet  in  the 
first  two  and  a  half  miles.  There  are  beautiful 
glimpses  of  deep  granite  walled  canyons,  cut 
out  by  the  erosive  action  of  the  descending 
waters,  and  a  succession  of  cascades,  while 
vistas  open  now  and  then  to  disclose  snow 
capped  peaks  of  the  Tatoosh  Range  of  moun 
tains.  Near  the  head  of  this  trail  is  the  Comet 
Falls,  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  water  fall  in 
Rainier  Park.  It  has  a  drop  of  200  feet  and 
does  bear  some  resemblance  to  the  tail  of  a 
comet. 


MT.  RAINIER  NATIONAL  PARK          127 

Van  Trump  Park  is  one  of  the  three  great 
natural  park-like  areas  on  the  south  slope  of 
the  mountain  and,  like  Indian  Henry's  and 
Paradise,  constitutes  a  vast  flower  garden  at 
the  very  edge  of  the  glaciers  and  snow  fields. 
It  presents  an  excellent  view  of  the  mountain, 
with  Nisqually  glacier  to  the  right  and  Kautz 
glacier  on  the  left,  and  all  about  on  the  vast 
green  plain  grows  a  profusion  of  vari-colored 
flowers.  White  and  yellow  Avalanche  Lilies, 
the  gorgeous  red  Indian  Paint  Brush  and  the 
Blue  Lupines  bloom  in  great  patches,  and 
small  patches  of  Heather  add  to  the  color 
scheme.  At  this  point  the  great  snow  cap  of 
Rainier  seems  so  close  that  you  might  almost 
touch  it;  so  wonderful  are  the  proportions  of 
this  mountain,  it  is  difficult  to  realize  that  its 
near  peak,  Peak  Success,  is  really  9000  feet 
above  you. 

There  are  three  trails  leading  into  Indian 
Henry's  Hunting  Ground;  one  follows  the 
course  of  Tahoma  Creek,  just  within  the  park 
entrance;  a  second  starts  in  the  vicinity  of 


128  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

Kautz  Creek,  where  it  crosses  the  highway; 
and  the  third,  and  most  generally  used,  begins 
at  Longmire  Springs  about  half  a  mile  beyond 
the  hotels.  Horses  may  be  obtained  from  the 
Transportation  Company  but  the  trail  is  not 
difficult  to  the  average  healthy  individual.  It 
is  a  typical  zigzag  mountain  trail,  rising  2800 
feet  in  the  course  of  seven  miles  and  crossing 
the  upper  part  of  Kautz  Creek  and  two  of  its 
tributaries,  Pyramid  and  Devil's  Dream 
Creeks.  Near  the  upper  end  of  the  trail  snow 
will  be  encountered  in  small  patches  and  mos 
quitoes  in  large  flocks;  incidentally,  the  mos 
quitoes  of  the  higher  mountains  are  smaller 
but  more  vicious  than  the  much  slandered  Jer 
sey  variety  and  they  conduct  their  business 
operations  at  all  hours ;  they  are  not  at  all  de 
terred  by  cold,  but  seem  to  operate  with  equal 
facility  and  persistency  in  the  woods  or  upon 
the  glaciers. 

At  the  head  of  the  trail  you  come  suddenly 
upon  a  broad,  expansive  green  plateau  and  all 
the  beauty  of  this  "park"  bursts  upon  the 


MT.  RAINIER  NATIONAL  PARK          129 

vision.  It  is,  indeed,  a  sight  never  to  be  for 
gotten.  Imagine  a  vast  grassy  lawn,  of  that 
rich  green  of  English  lawns,  with  a  rolling 
surface  dotted  here  and  there  with  small  lakes 
and  with  hillocks  that  are  crowned  with  clus 
ters  of  Alpine  Fir  and  Cedar;  while  the  slop 
ing  sides  of  these  little  hills  are  covered  with 
flowers  and  the  whole  garden  is  surrounded  by 
mountains,  the  chief  of  which,  of  course,  is 
the  snow-capped,  towering  peak  of  Rainier.  At 
the  distal  border  of  the  park,  or  garden,  is  a 
lake  to  which  the  name  of  Mirror  has  been 
given  because  its  very  smooth  surface  per 
fectly  reflects  every  detail  of  that  portion  of 
Mt.  Rainier  that  faces  it.  As  I  saw  it,  the 
south  bank  of  the  lake  was  still  covered  with 
snow,  there  was  a  mass  of  blueish  green  ice  in 
the  water  along  the  shore,  the  north  bank  was 
carpeted  with  Avalanche  Lilies,  Red  Paint 
Brush,  Blue  Lupines  and  Yellow  Buttercups, 
and  the  great  mountain  was  perfectly  mirrored 
in  the  smooth,  shallow  water.  It  was  by  all 
odds  the  most  peaceful,  restful,  delicately 


130  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

beautiful  scene  I  had  ever  found.  Paradise 
Park,  of  which  you  will  hear  more,  has  a  more 
attractive  name,  and  is  appropriately  named; 
but  it  contains  no  single  spot  to  compare  with 
this  section  of  Indian  Henry's. 

The  old  Indian  Henry  Camp  has  been 
abandoned;  but  there  must,  inevitably,  some 
day  be  established  here  a  modest  hotel  or  chalet 
for  the  accommodation  of  guests  who  desire 
to  remain  more  than  a  day  in  this  fantastic 
Christmas  garden,  or,  at  least,  to  spend  a  night 
in  order  to  witness  the  glory  of  a  sunset  or 
sunrise  from  such  a  vantage  point.  No  elab 
orate  hotel  is  required,  nor  in  fact  is  such  a 
thing  desirable,  but  a  few  comfortable  beds 
and  provision  for  simple,  wholesome  meals  can 
readily  be  supplied  at  small  cost  to  those  who 
will  patronize  the  place;  something  in  the 
nature  of  those  delightful  little  Swiss  cottage 
hotels  that  make  touring  in  the  Alps  so 
pleasing. 

Having  absorbed  sufficient  joy  from  the 
trips  round  about  Longmire's,  you  will  be 


GLACIAL  CREEK,  MT.  RANIER  NATIONAL  PARK 


MT.  RAINIER  NATIONAL  PARK          131 

ready  to  move  up  into  Paradise  Park.  Here, 
again,  there  are  two  ways  of  proceeding:  an 
auto-stage  makes  the  trip  over  one  of  the  best 
constructed  mountain  roads  in  this  country, 
covering  the  distance  of  14  miles  in  one  hour ; 
and,  the  trail  through  the  woods  is  open  to 
pedestrians,  the  distance  thus  being  shortened 
to  six  miles,  that  may  be  easily  traveled,  by 
even  a  tenderfoot,  in  two  or  three  hours. 

Passing  the  lower  end,  or  "snout,"  of  Nis- 
qually  Glacier,  and  crossing  the  head  of  this 
river,  the  road  doubles  back  to  the  south,  but 
on  the  east  wall  of  the  Nisqually  Valley 
ascending  steadily  to  the  top  of  this  ridge,  and 
then,  turning  sharply,  enters  the  valley  of  the 
Paradise  River.  The  name  of  Ricksecker  has 
been  given  to  this  point,  in  honor  of  the  engi 
neer  who  built  the  road,  and  from  this  position 
the  entire  Nisqually  Valley  lies  open  to  view. 
At  its  head  is  Mt.  Rainier,  with  the  ragged, 
crevassed  Nisqually  Glacier  covering  this 
slope,  the  ice-mass  of  the  lower  part  being 
mixed  with  a  large  amount  of  crushed  rock 


132  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

so  that  it  resembles  rather  a  mountain  of  dirt 
than  a  typical  glacier,  while,  looking  down  the 
valley  the  river  can  be  traced  for  quite  a  dis 
tance,  as  it  flows  through  a  granite  walled 
canyon  carved  out  in  the  course  of  passing 
years.  On  either  side  the  canyon  walls  rise 
to  the  height  of  1000  feet  and  the  turbulent 
stream  is  still  rolling  down  pebbles,  and  even 
good  sized  boulders,  and  carrying  so  much  soft 
silt  and  white  clay  that  it  presents  a  decidedly 
milky  hue.  The  road,  following  the  course 
now  of  the  Paradise  River,  winds  upward  in 
a  snaky  manner,  making  four  crossings  of  the 
river  as  it  tumbles  down  from  the  glacier  at 
the  head  of  this  valley.  The  principal  cataract 
of  this  river,  the  Narada  Falls,  has  a  drop  of 
150  and  a  width  of  50  feet,  as  it  spreads  out 
over  the  smooth  rock  wall  of  a  narrow,  deep 
canyon.  In  the  bright  morning  sun,  rainbow 
colors  flit  about  in  the  spray  that  is  dashed,  by 
the  wind,  clear  across  this  canyon.  At  the 
second  crossing  of  the  river  the  water  is  seen 
descending  in  a  series  of  beautiful  cascades,  to 


MT.  RAINIER  NATIONAL  PARK          133 

which  the  name  of  Washington  Torrents  has 
been  applied.  At  an  elevation  of  5000  feet 
the  road  turns  around  a  rocky  promontory  and 
suddenly  discloses,  several  hundred  feet  below, 
a  wide,  fairly  level  valley,  through  the  center 
of  which  the  upper  Paradise  River  meanders 
quietly.  On  a  plateau  500  feet  higher  than 
this  flat  is  Paradise  Valley  proper,  where  the 
Inn  and  Camp  of  the  Clouds  are  situated,  and, 
more  important,  where  you  will  find  one  of  the 
grandest  and  most  inspiring  sights  imaginable. 
The  floor  of  Paradise  Valley  is  5,557  feet 
above  sea  level;  the  crest  of  Mt.  Rainier  has 
an  altitude  of  14,408  feet;  so  vast  is  the  spread 
of  this  massive  mountain,  so  graceful  are  the 
curves  of  its  ice-covered  slopes,  so  gradual  are 
the  inclinations  from  base  to  peak,  and,  so 
clearly  are  the  colored  strata  of  the  upper  por 
tions  of  the  rock  visible  in  the  rarified  atmos 
phere,  that  you  will  find  it  difficult  to  believe 
that  Success  Peak  towers  nearly  9000  feet 
above  you.  Almost  in  the  center  of  the  valley 
is  a  wedge-shaped  hill,  the  highest  point  of 


134.  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

which,  Alta  Vista,  reaches  an  altitude  of  6000 
feet  and  directly  faces  the  mountain.  This 
hill  is  grass  covered,  well  watered  by  the  snow 
that  remains  upon  its  surface  even  late  in  the 
summer,  and  its  western  slope  is  one  mass  of 
brilliant  flowers.  Here  the  Avalanche  Lily  is 
found  in  perfection,  large  blossoms  of  purest 
white  with  golden  centers;  the  Indian  Paint 
Brush  has  the  deepest  shade  of  red ;  the  Lupine 
presents  the  brightest  blue,  and  distributed 
about  are  areas  of  Golden  Yellow  Roses, 
White  Anemones  and  Pink  Asters. 

From  Alta  Vista,  Mt.  Rainier  confronts  the 
onlooker  not  as  the  mountain  "that  was,"  but 
the  mountain  "that  is"  God — beautiful,  glor 
ious,  noble  beyond  the  power  of  words  to  de 
scribe.  Glaciers  radiating  on  every  side,  spread 
downward  from  its  peak,  sending  forth, 
as  they  melt,  life-giving  streams  to  the 
plains  below.  The  pale-green  shades  of  the 
crevassed  glacial  ice,  the  kaleidoscopic  colors 
of  the  exposed  portion  of  rock  and  the  ever- 
changing  cloud  effects  in  the  sky,  added  to 


MT.  RAINIER  NATIONAL  PARK          135 

the  marvelously  fine  flowered  carpet  of  nature, 
make  this  a  veritable  land  of  enchantment. 
To  the  east,  west  and  south  is  an  imposing 
array  of  other  mountain  peaks  circling  about 
Rainier  like  an  attendant  body  of  respectful, 
dignified  and  noble  courtiers.  The  grandeur 
of  these  neighboring  pinnacles  is  in  no  sense 
impaired  or  diminished  by  the  dominance  of 
the  superbly  royal  master.  As  the  glory  and 
honor  of  a  great  Chief  is  reflected  upon  his 
worthy  followers,  so  the  peaks  of  the  Tatoosh 
Range  seem  to  take  on  a  nobility  of  character 
that  is  enhanced  by  their  proximity  to,  and 
the  leadership  of,  Rainier. 

The  ascent  of  Mt.  Rainier  is  one  of  the  most 
delightful  and  thrilling  mountain  climbing 
experiences  available  to  Americans  at  home. 
The  trip  is  made  from  Paradise  Inn,  under 
the  care  of  experienced  guides  and,  while  it 
is  not  to  be  taken  lightly  and  without  knowl 
edge  that  it  requires  acceptance  of  some  hard 
ships,  still  it  is  not  beyond  the  ability  of  the 
average  healthy  individual.  The  start  is 


136  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

usually  made  now  in  the  afternoon,  so  that 
Steven's  Glacier  may  be  crossed  and  the  Shel 
ter  House  reached  before  nightfall.  Here,  at 
the  base  of  "Gibralter"  rock,  the  hours  of 
darkness  are  spent  more  or  less  comfortably, 
and  at  daybreak  the  hard  part  of  the  climb 
commences.  The  party  is  roped  for  passage 
of  the  dangerous  places  and  then  the  walk 
across  the  great  snow  field  at  the  top  is  simply 
an  arduous  task,  to  be  rewarded  by  the  won 
derful  view  and  the  marvelous  thrill  to  be 
obtained  at  "the  top  of  the  world." 


CHAPTER  IX 
GLACIER   NATIONAL    PARK 

"The  mountains  of  this  glorious  land 

Are  conscious  beings  to  mine  eye, 
When  at  the  break  of  day  they  stand 

Like  giants  looking  through  the  sky, 
To  hail  the  sun's  unrisen  car, 

That  gilds  their  diadems  of  snow; 
While  one  by  one,  as  star  by  star, 

Their  peaks  in  ether  glow." 

JAMES  MONTGOMERY. 


NATIONAL  PARK  is  a 

VJT  place  where,  to  your  heart's  content, 
you  may  wander  in  the  great  pine  woods,  tre 
mendous  forests,  that  are  fragrant  with  wild 
flowers  as  well  as  delicious  resinous  odors.  It 
is  also  a  place  where  you  can  spend  much  of 
your  time  in,  about  or  upon  the  water,  for 
there  are  said  to  be  250  lakes  within  its  domain 
and  there  are  innumerable  streams  of  all  sizes, 
from  the  icy  rill  at  the  foot  of  a  glacier  to 
rushing  rivers  that  carry  the  accumulated 

137 


138  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

waters  off  to  the  sea.  There  are  seductive 
creeks  in  which  you  may  angle,  with  every 
prospect  of  success,  for  the  sporty  mountain 
trout;  icy -cold  rivulets  from  the  snow  fields 
and  springs  from  the  hillsides,  to  allay  your 
thirst  as  you  follow  the  trails;  shallow  pools 
heated  by  the  sun  to  a  temperature  that  makes 
bathing  a  greater  delight  than  it  can  ever  be 
in  a  porcelain  tub,  and  larger  bodies  of  water 
upon  which  to  indulge  your  propensity  for 
rowing,  to  float  in  a  canoe  on  moonlight  nights, 
or,  which  are  traversed  by  little  passenger 
steamers  plying  between  tourist  centers. 

Does  it  sound  good  to  you?  A  very  simple 
recital  of  the  facts  in  this  case  should  be  suffi 
cient  to  induce  any  one  to  desire  the  trip  out 
there.  Glacier  Park  is  unique  among  our  play 
ground  reservations  and  more  nearly  resembles 
the  Swiss  Alps  than  any  other  part  of  this 
country.  It  has  an  area  of  more  than  1500 
square  miles  of  untamed,  rugged,  stern  moun 
tains  with  scores  of  peaks  having  an  altitude 
greater  than  10,000  feet,  dozens  of  glaciers  and 


GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK  139 

hundreds  of  charming  lakes.  Wild,  why  there 
are  numerous  mountain  peaks  there  as  yet  un- 
climbed  and  thousands  of  acres  upon  which  the 
foot  of  white  man  has  probably  never  yet 
trodden.  The  Rocky  Mountain  Park,  because 
of  its  proximity  to  the  large  middle  western 
cities,  and  its  easy  access  even  for  the  people 
of  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  may  draw  always  the 
larger  number  of  annual  visitors,  but  Glacier 
Park  must  continue  to  grow  in  popularity  until 
it  challenges  supremacy  on  this  point,  for  no 
other  park  can  compare  with  it  in  rugged 
grandeur  nor  in  facilities  for  the  enjoyment  of 
nature  at  its  best,  in  the  rough,  and  at  moder 
ate  expense. 

The  Great  Northern  is  the  only  railway  that 
reaches  this  park,  and,  in  passing,  it  may  be 
observed  that  this  Company,  and  especially 
its  President,  Mr.  Louis  W.  Hill,  deserves 
much  credit  for  developing  the  park  with  its 
excellent  hotel  and  transportation  system. 
They  have  done  nearly  as  much  as  the  Govern 
ment  to  make  the  trip  to  the  park  and  living 


140  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

therein  comfortable.  Express  trains  touch  the 
Park's  southern  boundary  at  two  points:  at 
Glacier  Park  Station  at  the  southeast  cor 
ner,  and  at  Belton,  near  the  southwestern. 
Dropped  from  the  train  at  the  first  named 
station,  you  enter  a  magnificent  hotel  that  is 
prepared  to  offer  all  the  comforts  and  luxuries 
of  tlie  most  elaborate  of  modern  city  houses; 
New  York  can  scarcely  do  any  better  by  you. 
There  you  decide  on  how  you  will  make  the 
trip  through  the  park,  for  there  are  not  only 
several  modes  of  travel,  but  at  least  three  dif 
ferent  ways  of  boarding  while  making  the 
journey. 

The  first  of  these  comprises  life  in  the  grand 
hotels,  for  there  is  another  of  the  same  type 
referred  to,  the  Many  Glacier,  on  Lake  Mc- 
Dermott,  at  the  distal  end  of  the  automobile 
highway,  and  the  making  of  short  excursions 
while  using  the  hotels  as  headquarters.  The 
second  method  consists  in  living  at  the  Swiss 
Chalets,  located  at  various  points  in  the  park, 
and  where  living  is  on  the  American  plan  and 


GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK  141 

iit  the  uniform  rate  of  $4.00  per  day.  The 
third  is  even  more  economical  and  more  in 
harmony  with  the  surroundings,  though  it  will 
not  appeal  so  strongly  to  those  not  accustomed 
to  out-of-doors  life;  that  is,  to  rent  at  each 
stopping  place  an  Indian  teppee  and  to  do 
your  own  cooking.  These  tents  may  be  rented 
at  the  rate  of  fifty  cents  per  bed  a  day  and  the 
Chalets  permit  the  use  of  cooking  utensils  at 
a  public  kitchen  completely  equipped  for  the 
purpose.  By  purchasing  the  raw  food,  pre 
paring  your  own  meals  and  sleeping  in  the 
teppee  it  is  possible  to  travel  through  this  park 
at  a  cost  of  about  one  dollar  per  day. 

The  Automobile  Highway,  starting  from 
Glacier  Park  Station,  runs  over  the  Black 
Feet  Indian  Reservation  for  thirty-two  miles 
to  St.  Mary's  Lake,  and  then,  coursing  around 
the  northern  arm  of  this  lake  and  crossing  the 
St.  Mary's  River,  finds  its  terminus  at  Many 
Glacier  Hotel  on  Lake  McDermott.  Within 
ten  miles  of  the  starting  point  there  are  two 
branch  roads  leading  from  the  Highway  to 


142  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

Two  Medicine  Lake,  with  its  Chalet  group, 
and,  to  the  Cut  Bank  Chalets  on  the  Cut  Bank 
River.  Otherwise,  and  to  all  other  points, 
travel  in  this  park  must  be  by  trail,  save  in 
regard  to  the  trips  from  St.  Mary's  to  Going- 
To-The-Sun  Camp,  and  from  Lewis'  Hotel 
to  Apgars  on  the  road  to  Belton,  where  boat 
trips  are  possible. 

Only  a  short  distance  from  the  Glacier  Park 
Hotel  the  first  branch  from  the  Highway 
turns  westward,  winds  around  the  lower  Two 
Medicine  Lake  and  follows  Two  Medicine 
River  to  the  Chalets  at  the  outlet  of  the  lake 
lying  at  the  foot  of  Rising  Wolf  Mountain; 
the  distance  traversed  being  about  twelve 
miles.  The  lake  is  hemmed  in  by  splendid 
peaks  averaging  nine  thousand  feet  and  bear 
ing  such  euphonious  names  as  Old  Grizzly, 
Rising  Bull  and  Appistoki.  Rising  Wolf  was 
the  Blackfeet's  name  for  Hugh  Monroe,  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  who  came  among 
the  tribe  in  1815  and  is  said  to  have  been  the 
first  white  man  to  enter  Montana.  The 


GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Chalets  at  Two  Medicine  form  an  attractive 
group  of  low  structures  consisting  of  one  large 
building  that  serves  as  reception  hall  and  din 
ing  room,  several  dormitory  Chalets  capable 
of  accommodating  one  hundred  guests,  a  bath 
ing  establishment  and  an  electric  power  house. 
Boats  may  be  hired  for  fishing  or  other  sport 
upon  the  lake,  and  there  are  several  interesting 
side  trips  such  as  climbing  to  the  summit  of 
Dawson  Pass,  or  visiting  Appistoki,  Running 
Eagle  or  Twin  Falls. 

Cut  Bank  Chalets  lie  in  the  mountain  shel 
tered,  forested  valley  of  the  Cut  Bank  River, 
at  the  terminus  of  the  second  branch  road 
from  the  Highway  and  about  twenty-two 
miles  from  Glacier  Park  Hotel.  The  Cut 
Bank  River  is  said  to  offer  some  of  the  best 
trout  fishing  in  the  park  and,  in  consequence, 
these  Chalets  are  the  particular  rendezvous  for 
anglers.  The  hotel  accommodations  here  are 
of  the  same  type,  though  not  quite  so  extensive, 
as  those  described  for  the  preceding  group. 

The  Highway  runs  across  the  fairly  level 


144  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

plateau  on  the  western  border  of  the  Blackfeet 
Indian's  Reservation  for  about  25  miles  until 
Divide  Creek  is  reached,  when  it  cuts  into  the 
mountain  range  and  meanders  through  a 
wooded  gorge  to  Lake  St.  Mary's.  It  may 
fairly  be  said  that  this  lake  is  the  center  of 
attractions  in  Glacier  Park.  It  lies  midway 
between  the  entrance  and  Many  Glacier  Hotel 
at  the  northern  terminal.  It  affords  connec 
tion  by  regular  passenger  boat  service  with 
Going-To-The-Sun  Chalets,  and  from  these 
two  points  connection  can  be  made  with  all  of 
the  park  trails.  It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
mountain  lakes  in  all  the  world;  a  moderately 
deep  lake  of  vivid  green  water,  with  an  aver 
age  width  of  one  mile  and  an  extreme  length 
of  ten  miles,  closed  in  upon  all  sides  by  moun 
tains  that  rise  abruptly  from  its  shores.  It  is, 
in  fact,  a  basin  of  water  whose  rim  at  many 
points  is  one  mile  higher  than  the  surface  of 
the  contained  water.  Here  are  Kootenai, 
Singleshot,  Whitefish,  Goat  and  Red  Eagle 
Mountains,  beside  many  lesser  peaks. 


GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK  145 

From  St.  Mary's  Chalets  the  Highway  fol 
lows  the  shore  of  Lower  St.  Mary's  Lake, 
crosses  the  river  just  below  the  lake  outlet  and 
then  pursues  the  Swiftcurrent  River  past 
Sherbourne  Lake  to  Many  Glacier  Hotel  on 
the  banks  of  Lake  McDermott.  The  domi 
nant  peaks  here  are  Mt.  Wilbur,  Mt.  Altyn 
and  Grinnell  Mountain,  and,  from  the  hotel 
porch  no  less  than  five  glaciers  are  within 
range  of  vision.  No  spot  in  the  park  offers 
a  more  satisfactory  headquarters  from  which 
to  make  a  series  of  short  excursions.  One  of 
the  most  interesting  of  these  is  a  trip  to  Ice 
berg  Lake,  seven  miles  by  trail,  where  the 
formation  and  distribution  of  icebergs  may  be 
closely  studied.  Nestling  under  a  shoulder  of 
Mt.  Wilbur,  here  is  an  expiring  glacier,  small 
remnant  now  of  what  it  once  was  and  daily 
crumbling  away.  Nearly  every  day,  in  the 
warm  months,  masses  of  ice  break  off  from 
this  field,  drop  into  the  lake  and  float  out  on 
its  bosom.  Sometimes  these  pieces  are  small, 
occasionally  they  are  quite  large  enough  to 


146  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

sustain  afloat  the  weight  of  two  or  three  per 
sons.  Under  the  sun's  heat  these  bergs  soon 
melt  and  the  water  runs  off  from  the  lake  by 
a  rivulet  that  empties  into  Lake  McDermott. 
The  hardy  may  wade  out  into  the  lake  and 
enjoy  a  ride  on  an  iceberg,  or  capture  and 
drag  one  to  shore.  If  interested  in  the  con 
struction  of  a  glacier,  and  one  means  by  which 
it  acts,  here  is  opportunity  to  study  it  at  very 
close  range,  the  glacier  being  approachable 
without  danger. 

But,  the  real  glory,  the  indescribable  beauty, 
the  most  wonderful  scenery  of  the  Rockies  is 
reserved  for  the  tramper  who  will  follow  afoot 
the  trails  over  Swift  Current  Pass  to  the 
Granite  Park  Chalets  and  over  Gunsight  Pass 
to  the  Blackfeet  Glacier.  The  trails  in  Glacier 
Park  are  good,  none  of  them  will  prove  se 
riously  taxing  to  one  of  ordinary  strength  and 
none  present  any  special  dangers.  On  the  sub 
ject  of  tramping  John  Muir  has  said:  "Few 
places  in  the  world  are  more  dangerous  than 
home.  Fear  not,  therefore,  to  try  the  mountain 


Photo  by  Cowling.     Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  the 
National  Park  Service. 


AFLOAT  OX  TWO-MEDICINE  LAKE,  GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 


GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK  147 

passes.  They  kill  care,  save  you  from  deadly 
apathy,  set  you  free  and  call  forth  every  fac 
ulty  into  vigorous,  enthusiastic  action."  Any 
thing  that  is  worth  having  is  worth  working 
for  and  the  best  of  this  park  is  available  only 
to  those  who  are  willing  to  exert  themselves 
to  some  degree. 

It  is  possible  to  cover  all  the  important 
places  in  the  park  in  a  definite  tramping  trip, 
traveling  without  baggage  and  stopping  at 
nights  at  the  Chalets.  The  distance  traveled 
in  any  one  day  need  not  be  great,  never  over 
twenty-five  miles,  and  the  only  supplies  neces 
sary  to  carry  will  be  lunches  and  toilet  articles. 
As  an  itinerary  the  following  is  suggested: 
starting  from  Glacier  Park  Hotel  one  day  may 
be  given  to  each  of  the  following  walks : 

1.  To  Two  Medicine  Lake  by  trail  over 
Squaw  Mountain  and  Mt.  Henry,  a  distance 
of  about  eighteen  miles.  Two  small  streams, 
where  good  drinking  water  may  be  obtained, 
are  crossed,  the  first  on  the  slope  of  Squaw 
and  the  second  in  tHe  valley  at  the  foot  of 


148  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

Henry;  but  after  the  climbing  begins  there 
is  no  water  on  either  side  of  Henry  until  one 
descends  into  the  valley  of  Two  Medicine 
Lake,  along  the  course  of  Appistoki  Creek. 
The  ascent  of  Henry  is  steep  and  the  descent 
both  steep  and  rough,  but  at  various  points 
along  the  trail  there  are  fascinating  views  of 
the  lower  and  middle  members  of  this  chain 
of  three  lakes. 

2.  From  Two  Medicine  Lake  to  the  Cut 
Bank  Chalets.  For  five  miles  this  trail  runs 
through  Dry  Fork  Canyon,  where  forest  fires 
have  created  devastation,  but  the  three  pyra 
midal  mountain  peaks,  Flintsch,  Morgan  and 
McClintock,  at  the  head  of  the  valley,  hold 
one's  interest  and  prove  so  enticing  that  the 
walk  seems  easy.  On  this  side  of  the  Cut 
Bank  Pass  is  a  vast  amphitheatre  in  which 
nestles  a  marvelously  beautiful  lake  having  a 
center  of  the  darkest  blue  and  a  border  of 
pale  green  water.  It  is  one  of  the  most  beau 
tiful  spots  anywhere  in  the  world.  Climbing 
over  a  shoulder  of  Mt.  Morgan,  descent  is 


GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK  149 

made  into  the  Cut  Bank  River  Valley,  passing 
beside  a  series  of  three  beautiful  lakes,  which 
constitute  the  source  of  this  river,  and  through 
several  well  wooded  parks  and  green  plateaus. 
The  trail  is  about  twenty-four  miles  long  and 
the  river  has  to  be  forded  a  dozen  times  within 
the  last  few  miles  of  the  approach  to  the 
Cut  Bank  Chalets. 

3.  From  Cut  Bank  to  St.  Mary's  Lake  by 
trail  is  all  of  thirty  miles  and  as  it  presents 
nothing  of  sufficient  importance  to  compensate 
for  the  exertion  it  is  better  to  make  the  trip 
by  walking  five  miles  back  to  the  Automobile 
Highway  and  then  traveling  by  stage  to  St. 
Mary's. 

4.  The  trail  from  St.  Mary's  to  Going-To- 
The-Sun  Camp  follows  closely  the  lake  shore 
line  for  the  entire  distance  of  nine  miles,  af 
fording  many  glorious  views  of  this  beautiful 
body  of  water. 

5.  From    Going-To-The-Sun    to    Many 
Glacier  Hotel  over  the  Piegan  Pass  is  ap 
proximately  twenty-two  miles  and  one  of  the 


150  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

most  charming  trails  in  the  park.  The  first 
five  miles  is  along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake 
and  thence  the  climb  to  Piegan  Pines  is  by  a 
well-graded  ascent.  There  is  plenty  of  water 
along  the  way  from  the  numerous  streams 
draining  the  glaciers  above  and  there  are  nu 
merous  good  views  of  the  Blackf  eet  Glacier  off 
to  the  west  and  of  the  smaller  ones  on  Piegan 
and  Gould  Mountains.  From  the  top  of  the 
pass  one  looks  down  into  Grinnell  Lake  and 
descends  into  the  valley  by  a  steep  and  difficult 
trail,  footing  being  insecure  in  the  loose  shale, 
the  switch-backs  being  long  and  angular,  and 
the  sun  beaming  down  upon  one,  for  there  is 
no  shade  for  at  least  five  miles.  Such  discom 
fort  is,  however,  soon  forgotten,  swallowed  up 
in  the  constant  succession  of  scenic  effects. 

6.  From  Many  Glacier  Hotel  to  Granite 
Park  Chalets,  by  way  of  Swift  Current  Pass, 
is  only  nine  miles,  but  every  one  of  those  miles 
is  crammed  full  of  exhilarating  beauty.  The 
trail  follows  up  the  forested  valley  of  the 
Swift  Current  River  to  its  head,  then  scales 


GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK  151 

the  face  of  Swift  Current  Mountain,  to  the 
top  of  the  pass  at  6900  feet,  crossing  the 
Continental  Divide  and  affording  one  of  the 
most  fascinating  experiences  of  mountain 
travel.  If  the  atmosphere  is  clear  you  may 
from  Lookout  Point  study  all  the  peaks  and 
waters  of  the  Swift  Current  Valley,  its  river 
and  Lakes  McDermott  and  Sherbourne,  and 
look  out  over  the  Blackfeet  country  for  a  dis- 
tantce  !of  nearly  a  hundred  miles.  This  is 
looking  toward  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  divide. 
Go  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  pass  and  you 
command  a  view  of  the  Livingston  Range, 
Mineral  Creek  and  McDonald  Lake  Valley, 
and  so  overlook  the  beginning  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  Country. 

7.  From  Granite  Park  over  Logan  Pass 
to  Going-To-The-Sun  Camp;  twenty-four 
miles  of  magnificent  scenery.  Granite  Park 
Chalet  occupies  an  open  space  on  top  of  the 
mountain  and  the  wind  whistles  about  it  fu 
riously  at  night ;  but,  if  one  is  fortunate  enough 
to  witness  a  sunset  or  sunrise  from  this  point 


152  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

any  possible  discomfort  will  be  considered 
worth  while.  Having  started  from  so  high  a 
point,  this  day's  walk  will  be  mainly  on  a  level 
or  slightly  down  grade.  All  the  way  to  the 
Garden  Wall,  seven  miles,  the  trail  is  level 
and  easy.  Then  comes  a  little  climb  over  the 
shoulders  of  the  Haystack  and  Pollack  Moun 
tains,  followed  by  descent  into  the  valley  of 
the  St.  Mary's  River.  The  great  glacier  on 
Fusilade  Mountain,  with  its  series  of  cata 
racts,  each  seeming  more  beautiful  than  the 
other,  the  views  of  Going-To-The-Sun  and 
Almost- A-Dog  Mountains  from  the  opposite 
side  to  that  which  is  visible  from  Going-To- 
The-Sun  Camp,  and  the  fact  that  the  last 
third  of  the  trail  runs  through  a  beautiful  for 
est  makes  this  day's  tramping  a  series  of  de 
lights. 

8.  From  Going-To-The-Sun  to  Sperry 
Chalets,  seventeen  miles,  by  way  of  Gunsight 
Pass,  is  another  of  the  great  scenic  trails  of 
this  park.  It  is  on  this  trip  that  one  comes 
into  intimate  contact  with  the  largest  glacier 


GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK  153 

in  this  park — the  Blackfeet  Glacier — which 
has  been  visible  from  Piegan  and  Logan  Pass 
Trails  but  is  here  at  your  very  feet.  Many 
charming  lakes  are  visible  from  the  trail, 
among  them  the  beautiful  Lake  Ellen  Wilson. 

9.  From  Sperry  to  Lake  McDonald 
(Lewis  Hotel)  is  only  about  seven  miles  and 
from  this  point  exit  from  the  park  can  be 
made  by  way  of  Belt  on,  or  one  may  retrace 
his  steps  to  Going-To-The-Sun  Camp  and  out 
by  way  of  St.  Mary's  Lake,  or  still  a  third 
choice  may  be  found  in  the  possibility  of  the 
trail  from  Lake  McDonald  to  Granite  Park 
Chalets  and  out  by  way  of  Many  Glacier 
Hotel. 

In  the  itinerary  given  Going-To-The-Sun 
Camp  is  visited  at  least  twice,  but  it  may  be 
said  of  that  spot  that  it  is  not  only  the  center 
of  all  the  trail  trips,  but  is  without  question 
the  most  delightful  resting  place  within  the 
park  boundaries.  Going-To-The-Sun  Moun 
tain  with  its  interesting  Indian  legend,  its 
glacier-capped  top  and  its  striking  individual- 


154  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

ity,  makes  a  lasting  impression  upon  the  be 
holder.  And  the  wonderful  mountains  that 
are  grouped  about  this  part  of  St.  Mary's 
Lake  with  their  artistic  conformations,  vividly 
colored  walls  and  snowy  peaks  rising  right  up 
into  the  clouds,  make  not  alone  a  picture  but 
an  endless  series  of  pictures.  It  is  pleasing, 
too,  that  the  authorities  have  retained  the  old 
Indian  names  for  things.  Think  how  much 
better  to  call  them  Red  Eagle,  Rising  Wolf, 
or  Almost-A-Dog,  than  to  have  tagged  them 
Smith,  Brown  or  Jones'  mountains. 

One  of  the  finest  short  trips  from  Going- 
To-The-Sun  Camp  is  that  to  Sexton  Glacier, 
where  the  climb  is  along  the  shore  of  Baring 
Creek  over  the  east  shoulder  of  Going-To-The- 
Sun  Mountain.  This  affords  an  excellent  op 
portunity  to  trace  a  glacier  from  its  ending 
back  to  its  source.  Or,  while  you  must  first 
walk  up  and  view  it  in  that  direction,  perhaps 
it  would  be  better  to  study  it  in  proper  order, 
from  source  to  terminus.  Starting  from  the 
ice-field,  note  the  walls  of  the  neighboring 


Photo  copyright  by  Riser  Photo  Co.,  Portland,  Oregon. 

ON  THE  TRAIL.  GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 


GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK  155 

mountain;  how  the  grinding  force  of  the  gla 
cier  in  ages  past  has  carved  them  in  its  prog 
ress.  Inspect  the  moraine  of  shale,  small  rocks 
and  pebbles.  Take  up  the  little  stream  of 
water  and  follow  it  down  to  the  lake;  numer 
ous  small  streams  from  different  parts  of  the 
glacier  uniting  to  form  a  rivulet  which,  receiv 
ing  waters  from  the  hills  as  it  runs  along, 
grows  in  force  and  speed  until  it  gains  the 
power  to  actually  cut  its  way  through  some 
rather  hard  rock  and  make  a  gorge  whose 
walls  are  now  moss-grown  above  the  present 
line  where  the  water  rushes  and  leaps  through 
its  confines.  Then,  as  it  reaches  the  base  of 
the  mountain,  it  .spreads  out  and  flows  as 
gently  and  smilingly  in  the  sun  as  any  tame 
meadow  brook  in  the  lowlands. 

In  an  introduction  to  a  Government  Cir 
cular  describing  Glacier  National  Park,  the 
Hon.  Franklin  K.  Lane,  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  addressing  the  American  people, 
says:  "Uncle  Sam  asks  you  to  be  his  guest. 
He  has  prepared  for  you  the  choice  places  of 


156  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

this  continent — places  of  grandeur,  beauty  and 
wonder.  He  has  built  roads  through  the  deep- 
cut  canyons  and  beside  happy  streams,  which 
will  carry  you  into  these  places  in  comfort,  and 
has  provided  lodgings  and  food  in  the  most 
distant  and  inaccessible  places  that  you  might 
enjoy  yourself  and  realize  as  little  as  possible 
the  rigors  of  the  pioneer  traveler's  life.  These 
are  for  you.  They  are  the  playgrounds  of  the 
people.  To  see  them  is  to  make  more  hearty 
your  affection  and  admiration  for  America." 


CHAPTER   X 
YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK 

"Delightful  Wyoming!  beneath  thy  skies, 
The  happy  shepherd  swains  had  nought  to  do 
But  feed  their  flocks  on  green  declivities, 
Or  skim  perchance  thy  lake  with  light  canoe, 
From  morn,  till  evening's  sweeter  pastime  grew. 

"Then,  where  of  Indian  hills  the  daylight  takes 
His  leave,  how  might  you  the  flamingo  see 
Disporting  like  a  meteor  on  the  lakes — 
And  playful  squirrel  on  his  nut-grown  tree, 
And  every  sound  of  life  was  full  of  glee." 

THOMAS  CAMPBELL. 

ENTRANCE  to  that  veritable  Fairyland 
known  as  Yellowstone  National  Park 
may  be  made  by  way  of  Cody,  on  the  east; 
Gardiner,  on  the  north;  or  Yellowstone,  on 
the  west  side.  At  either  point  the  trains  are 
met  by  representatives  of  the  Yellowstone 
Park  Transportation  Company  and  the  trav- 

157 


158  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

eler  decides  whether  he  will  "Travel  the  Wylie 
Way,"  that  is,  stopping  at  the  Camps  along 
the  way,  or  live  in  the  thoroughly  up-to-date 
hotels.  The  Camps  consist  of  groups  of  canvas 
tents,  the  locations  are  well  chosen,  the  meals 
furnished  are  very  satisfactory  and  the  rates 
are  moderate;  the  plan  is  somewhat  more  eco 
nomical  than  that  which  provides  for  living  at 
the  hotels.  The  choice  is  a  matter  of  personal 
taste.  Those  who  desire,  or  who  can  not  even 
temporarily  dispense  with  the  hotel  comforts, 
will  do  well  to  place  themselves  under  the  care 
of  the  Yellowstone  Transportation  and  Hotel 
Company,  feeling  assured  that  they  will  be 
supplied  with  all  the  necessities  and  many  of 
the  luxuries  of  city  life.  On  the  other  hand, 
those  who  wish  a  taste  of  out-of-door  living, 
without  any  of  the  labor  and  anxiety  of  a  real 
camping  trip  on  their  own  account,  and  who 
prefer  to  travel  under  the  guidance  and  care 
of  others  at  the  least  expense,  will  have  all  their 
wants  properly  cared  for  by  the  Yellowstone 
Camping  Company.  Perhaps  the  ideal  way  to 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK       159 

visit  the  park  is  to  travel  with  your  own  private 
conveyance,  be  this  a  pack-horse  train  or  an 
automobile,  camping  out  at  night  in  places 
appointed  by  Government  officials,  or,  arrang 
ing  to  stop  over  at  the  hotel  or  camp  stations 
previously  referred  to.  Here,  as  in  the  other 
parks,  all  of  the  advantages  of  sight-seeing 
are  with  the  tramper  who  has  time  and  free 
dom  to  explore  attractive  spots  as  they 
develop. 

Entering  the  Park  at  Gardiner,  Montana, 
the  first  stopping-place  within  its  domain  will 
be  the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs;  the  distance 
between  these  points  is  but  five  miles  and  con 
stitutes  a  very  delightful  walk,  through  the 
entrancing  Gardiner  River  Canyon.  This 
valley  is  a  narrow  one,  probably  not  more  than 
half  a  mile  wide  at  any  point,  and  the  Govern.* 
ment  built  road  runs  parallel  with  the  Gardi 
ner  River,  through  its  center.  In  some  pre 
historic  day  there  happened  a  tremendous 
earthquake  in  these  parts  and  the  earth's  crust 
broke  in  a  weak  tine  that  the  geologists  call  a 


160  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

"fault,"  Under  the  influence  of  the  great  up 
heaval,  the  two  portions  were  rent  widely 
asunder,  some  of  the  lower  strata  were  thrust 
upward  into  the  gap  and,  in  the  settling  that 
followed,  a  certain  amount  of  overlapping 
necessarily  resulted,  causing  one  side  wall  to 
remain  considerably  elevated  above  the  other. 
Thus,  we  find  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  a 
range  of  hills,  of  which  Electric  Peak  (11,100 
feet)  is  the  crowning  feature;  on  the  east  a 
lower  but  more  regular  mountain  ridge;  and, 
in  the  center,  the  river  that  carries  off  the  rain 
and  snow  that  is  annually  deposited  upon  these 
heights.  This  end-result  of  one  of  Nature's 
convulsions  is  the  first  of  the  many  peculiarly 
interesting  phenomena  in  this  aggregation  of 
novelties  to  greet  the  visitor.  At  every  step 
the  river  challenges  the  attention,  for  it  is  a 
characteristic  mountain  stream  of  grand  pro 
portions;  here  it  murmurs  or  purrs  and  sings 
in  sweetly  musical  tones  as  it  flows  over  a 
pebbly  bottom,  playfully  leaps  over  rocks  or 
dances  among  the  reeds ;  there  it  is  encroached 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK       161 

upon  by  the  confining  banks,  or  obstructed  by 
boulders,  and  in  wild  torrential  fashion  it 
dashes  onward,  carving  a  bed  for  itself  and 
forming  beautiful  cascades;  while  in  its 
broader  reaches,  it  moves  swiftly  but  majes 
tically  on  its  way  to  the  sea. 

At  a  point  about  four  miles  from  Gardiner, 
a  subterranean  stream,  the  "Boiling  River," 
which  is  bringing  down  water  from  the  Mam 
moth  Hot  Springs  some  two  miles  higher  up, 
emerges  from  the  rocks,  and,  emptying  on  the 
floor  of  the  valley,  flows  over  into  the  Gardiner 
River  100  feet  further  on.  It  is  an  interesting 
spectacle,  for  it  is  actually  possible  to  stand 
at  one  point  and  immerse  one  hand  in  the  very 
hot  water  of  the  Boiling  River  and  the  other 
in  the  almost  ice-cold  water  of  the  Gardiner. 

Mammoth  Hot  Springs  is  reached  in  time 
for  lunch  and  the  afternoon  is  usually  spent 
on  the  "formation"  -  a  term  employed 
throughout  the  park  in  referring  to  structural 
characteristics  of  the  earth's  surface  where  the 
unusual  phenomena  are  to  be  observed.  It  is 


162  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

here  that  you  will  be  introduced  to  the  first  of 
the  active  natural  phenomena  of  the  park,  the 
Hot  Springs,  and  nowhere  else  can  they  be 
seen  to  better  advantage.  Within  sight  of  the 
hotel,  and  less  than  five  minutes'  walk  there 
from,  are  the  beautifully  colored  "Terraces" 
formed  by  these  hot  springs.  The  springs  total 
about  70  in  number  and  their  calcareous  de 
posits  cover  an  area  of  200  acres.  The  hot 
water,  with  gas  bubbling  up  from  its  hidden 
source,  contains  quantities  of  lime  salts  in  solu 
tion  and,  as  it  cools  in  flowing  off,  the  salts  are 
precipitated  and  constitute  the  building  ma 
terial  of  the  terraces. 

As  a  demonstrative  explanation,  imagine  a 
large  basin  filled  with  such  water  and  receiving 
an  endless  supply  through  a  hole  in  its  bottom ; 
the  basin  set  in  the  ground,  but  not  exactly 
level.  The  excess  water  will  flow  over  the  low 
est  part  of  the  basin  rim,  but,  as  the  salts  are 
deposited  by  precipitation  along  this  side,  a 
new  rim  of  calcareous  matter  will  gradually  be 
formed  and  grow  up  to  or  slightly  above  the 


Photo   by  Gifford.     Reproduced   by  courtesy  of  the 
National  Park  Service. 


HYMEN  TERRACE,  MAMMOTH  HOT  SPRINGS,  YELLOWSTONE  PARK 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK       163 

surface  level  of  the  water,  when  the  overflow 
will  naturally  be  diverted  to  the  opposite  side 
of  the  basin,  because  that  has  become  the  lower 
portion.  Eventually,  if  this  course  continues, 
the  basin  will  be  completely  encircled  by  this 
formation,  the  surface  of  the  water  will  have 
been  steadily  lifted  to  a  higher  elevation  and 
the  formation  will  spread  out  and  construct  a 
broader  base  to  support  the  continually  grow 
ing  mass  of  deposit.  It  is  after  this  fashion  that 
the  "Terraces"  have  grown;  the  never  ending 
supply  of  spring  water  has  deposited  its  chem 
ical  content,  in  flowing  over  the  sides,  and  in 
the  course  of  centuries  these  massive  terraced 
banks  of  limestone  have  reached  the  height  of 
1500  feet  above  the  surrounding  country.  This 
growth  has  probably  occupied  10,000  years. 

But,  you  will  remind  me,  Carbonate  of 
Lime,  the  principal  solid  ingredient  in  the 
water,  is  nearly  white  while  these  terraces  pre 
sent  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow.  True;  the 
color  is  due  to  extraneous  matter.  In  nearly 
all  bodies  of  hot  water  a  low  form  of  vegeta- 


164  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

tion,  called  Algea,  will  thrive  and  it  is  the  light 
reflected  from  these  small  plants  that  gives  the 
apparent  color  to  the  terraces. 

Climbing  to  the  upper  terrace,  Jupiter 
Spring,  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  on  this 
formation  lies  before  you.  It  is  a  goodly 
sized  pool  of  the  clearest  crystalline  blue  and 
the  water  appears  to  be  boiling;  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  temperature  is  far  below  boiling  point 
and  the  agitation  is  really  due  to  the  escape  of 
carbonic  acid  gas.  The  beautiful  color  of  the 
water  is  not  produced  by  its  chemical  constitu 
ents  nor  does  it  depend  upon  reflections  from 
the  sky;  every  large  body  of  pure  water  is 
blue,  if  it  is  deep,  and  the  shade  varies  in  ac 
cordance  with  the  depth  of  the  pool. 

The  size  of  the  pool  and  the  quantity  of 
\vater  flowing  off  depend  upon  the  volume  and 
force  of  the  supplying  fountain  and  the  shape 
of  the  containing  bowl.  In  the  course  of  time, 
some  of  the  springs  have  ceased  to  be  active 
and  there  remains  now  only  a  cone?  or  column 
of  limestone,  or  a  cave.  "An  example  of  the 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        165 

hollow  pillar  of  limestone  may  be  seen  on  the 
way  to  Jupiter  Spring;  it  bears  the  name  of 
Liberty  Cap  and  has  a  height  of  forty  feet. 
Such  "Caves"  are  numerous  and  one  of  the 
larger  ones  (The  Devil's  Kitchen)  may  now 
be  safely  entered  to  a  considerable  distance, 
the  descent  being  made  by  means  of  ladders. 
The  escape  of  gas  from  most  of  the  caves  ren 
ders  them  dangerous  to  careless  and  inexperi 
enced  explorers ;  many  birds  and  small  animals 
are  killed  each  year  at  the  mouths  of  these 
caves,  through  being  overcome  by  the  deadly 
fumes. 

Now,  if  you  follow  the  water  flowing  from 
Jupiter  Spring,  for  instance,  down  over  the 
terrace  formation  it  will  be  seen  that  on  the 
side  of  the  cone  that  has  been  dry  for  a  con 
siderable  time,  some  plant  life,  even  small 
trees,  have  grown  up,  but  on  the  side  which  at 
present  is  being  overflown,  the  hot  water  has 
killed  the  trees  and  shrubs.  That  some  of  the 
trees  have  attained  a  considerable  size  shows 
that  the  region  immersed  changes  slowly;  for 


166  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

instance,  trees  on  the  south  side  of  the  terrace, 
now  receiving  a  hot  bath,  must  have  had  a 
quiet  period  of  at  least  twenty-five  years  in 
which  to  grow  to  such  size. 

The  great  beauty  of  the  terraces,  however, 
lies  in  their  glorious  coloring  and  not  in  con 
sideration  of  their  structure.  Natural  Color 
Photography  is  the  only  hopeful  means  of 
conveying  to  one  who  has  not  seen  them  him 
self  an  adequate  conception  of  the  delicate 
beauty  of  this  coloring.  There  is  nothing 
gaudy  about  it  and  artists  have  found  it  dif 
ficult  to  depict  it  without  exaggeration.  It 
varies  on  different  days  and  at  different  hours 
of  the  same  day ;  constantly  undergoing  change 
as  the  light  varies  in  intensity  or  strikes  the 
terrace  at  different  angles.  There  are  no  gor 
geous  tints  nor  intensely  deep  hues,  save  the 
red-browns.  The  basic  structure  is  a  true 
"travertine,"  suggestive  of  old  ivory,  and  the 
colors  laid  upon  that  by  the  growing  Algea 
run  the  gamut  of  colors  in  their  lighter  shades. 
As  the  Algea  family  has  many  representatives, 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK       167 

so  their  colors  vary  in  accordance  with  vary 
ing  conditions  other  than  that  of  light.  Those 
which  produce  the  brightest  colors  are  found 
to  grow  in  the  hottest  water,  and  the  waters 
of  lower  degrees  of  heat  produce  the  Algea 
with  darker  tints.  Consequently,  the  upper 
portions  of  the  terraces,  where  the  water  is 
flowing  directly  from  the  spring,  present  the 
rich  creamy  shades,  from  white  and  yellow  to 
a  pale  sea-green,  while  the  lower  basins  and 
ledges,  where  the  water  has  cooled  in  its  de 
scent,  present  the  dark  yellow,  orange  and 
reddish-brown  tints.  The  terraces  appear  at 
the  best,  perhaps,  in  the  late  afternoon  when 
the  softer  sunlight  is  reflected  back  with  a 
beauty  comparable  to  a  most  glorious  sunset. 
There  are  a  number  of  side  trips  that  may 
be  taken  from  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  and  it 
is  unfortunate  that  the  majority  of  visitors 
to  this  park  fail  to  avail  themselves  of  this 
privilege.  By  following  a  definite  schedule 
and  a  beaten  path  it  is  possible  to  "go  through" 
the  park  in  five  days,  but,  in  doing  so,  you 


168  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

see  only  the  curious  things  and  miss  many 
of  the  most  attractive  features.  People  are 
so  intent  on  seeing  the  geysers,  hot  springs, 
mud  volcanoes,  and  so  forth,  that  they  lose 
sight  entirely  of  the  possibility  of  taking  in  at 
the  same  time  some  of  the  most  beautiful 
scenery  to  be  had  anywhere  in  America.  There 
is  a  wonderful  trip  for  one  day's  riding  or 
walking,  from  this  hotel,  through  the  middle 
canyon  of  the  Gardiner  River.  The  trail  leads 
over  the  shoulder  of  Mt.  Bunsen,  passing  the 
Buffalo  corral,  and  probably  encountering  a 
herd  of  Elk  and  some  Deer  on  the  way, 
through  a  wild,  forest-clad  canyon  at  the  upper 
end  of  which  is  a  cataract  (Osprey  Falls) 
with  a  drop  of  150  feet,  and  thence  to  the 
Golden  Gate  Road.  In  some  respects  this 
canyon  is  as  pretty  as  the  canyon  of  the  Yel 
lowstone  River  and  it  is  a  great  pity  so  few 
people  have  ever  seen  it  or  even  heard  of  its 
existence.  Electric  Peak  and  Mt.  Everts  are 
two  other  mountains  that  offer  themselves  to 
the  climber  and  lover  of  the  beautiful. 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        169 

From  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  to  the  Upper 
Geyser  Basin,  home  of  "Old  Faithful,"  is  a 
journey  of  49  miles  now  made  easily  in  half 
a  day  by  the  automobile  busses.  The  first 
few  miles  are  taken  slowly  because  they  mean 
a  steady  climb  uphill,  but  the  scenery  by  the 
wayside  is  quite  interesting.  A  small  herd  of 
Buffalo  may  be  seen  in  the  meadows  just 
beyond  the  Hot  Spring  Terraces;  the  princi 
pal  corral,  which  embraces  the  second  largest 
herd  of  Bison  now  to  be  found  in  the  United 
States,  is  on  a  high  plateau  about  30  miles 
farther  back  in  the  park.  This  excellent  road 
over  Terrace  Mountain  was  constructed  by  the 
Army  Engineers,  under  General  Hiram 
Chittenden,  and  is  a  monument  to  his  genius 
and  their  labors,  especially  the  concrete  Via 
duct  that  carries  it  through  the  canyon  on  one 
side  of  the  mountain  where  a  foothold  could 
not  otherwise  be  obtained. 

The  first  unusual  phenomenon  encountered 
is  a  vast  field  of  travertine  rock  to  which  the 
name  of  "The  Hoodoos"  has  been  given;  sev- 


170  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

eral  acres  of  ground  covered  with  massive 
blocks  of  silvery  gray  rock,  tumbled  about  and 
piled  up  in  the  most  confused  manner.  The 
altitude  is  about  7000  feet,  nearly  1000  feet 
higher  than  the  Hot  Springs  basin,  and  there 
are  two  possible  explanations  for  the  presence 
of  these  rocks.  They  may  have  been  thrown 
down  from  higher  levels  by  some  violent  earth 
quake  shock,  accompanied  by  powerful  lateral 
thrusts  that  smashed  them  into  such  irregular 
shapes.  Or,  it  is  possible  that  this  area  was 
once  the  site  of  hot  springs  similar  to  those 
now  at  work  lower  down,  and,  having  become 
exhausted,  the  shell  of  these  immense  caverns 
collapsed  under  external  pressure.  There  is 
an  Indian  legend  of  some  form  of  cataclysm  in 
this  vicinity,  with  the  loss  of  many  lives  in  the 
Shoshone  tribe,  but  nothing  clear  as  to  the  true 
nature  of  the  action.  A  portion  of  the  road 
is  cut  through  this  material  and  the  great 
columns  on  either  side  have  been  named  the 
"Silver  Gate."  Half  a  mile  further,  the  Via 
duct  is  crossed  and  the  road  winds  through  the 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK 

canyon  produced  by  Glen  Creek,  with  Terracd 
Mountain  on  the  right  hand  and  Mt.  Bunseri 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream.  This  nar 
row  way  is  the  "Golden  Gate,"  in  considera 
tion  of  the  peculiar  color  of  the  rocky  walls ;  a 
beautiful  golden  brown  shot  with  yellow  and 
green,  due  to  the  growth  of  a  fine  moss  on  the 
rock  surface.  At  the  south  end  of  this  can 
yon  is  a  pretty  little  waterfall  (Rustic  Falls), 
where  Glen  Creek  makes  its  entrance. 

Passing  out  of  this  canyon  you  emerge  upon 
a  high,  level  plateau.  In  all  directions,  and 
at  no  very  great  distance,  the  higher  peaks  of 
the  Gallatin  Range  are  visible ;  many  of  them 
snow-capped  even  in  summer.  Electric  Peak, 
at  the  extreme  north  end  of  this  line,  is  the 
highest  mountain  in  the  Park  and  is  that  same 
peak  that  seemed  so  close  to  the  Gardiner 
entrance.  Half  way  to  Norris  a  halt  is  made 
at  a  platform  on  the  left  of  the  road,  to  drink 
from  the  Apollinaris  Spring.  The  water  is 
very  cold  and  refreshing  and  it  is  said  that 


172  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

chemical  analysis  has  shown  it  to  be  practically 
the  same  in  quality  and  purity  as  that  obtained 
from  the  world  famous  springs  of  the  same 
name  in  Europe.  The  principal  difference  ob 
served  by  the  tourist  is  that  whereas  the  For 
eign  Government  bottles,  sells  and  derives 
a  large  revenue  from  its  natural  springs,  the 
United  States  Government  wastefully  neglects 
such  natural  resources  and  buys  foreign  waters 
at  a  fancy  price  while  her  own  free  supply 
runs  as  freely  into  the  sea. 

Two  miles  beyond  this  you  will  pass  a  very 
remarkable  sight ;  the  Obsidian  Cliffs,  a  moun 
tain  of  shiny  black  glass.  Obsidian  is  glass  of 
volcanic  origin  and  it  is  interesting  to  consider 
the  degree  of  heat  that  must  have  been  neces 
sary  and  the  force  required  to  produce  and 
throw  up  a  mountain  of  such  substance.  It 
was  formerly  used  by  the  Indians  for  arrow 
heads,  because  of  its  hardness,  and  this  was 
one  of  the  few  districts  in  the  park  they  were 
accustomed  to  visit  in  olden  times.  The  road 
engineers  met  with  great  difficulty  in  passing 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        173 

this  point,  it  being  impossible  to  break  up  the 
glass  rock  with  any  ordinary  implements,  and 
they  finally  resorted  to  the  novel  method  of 
building  fires  on  it  to  heat  it  up  and  then 
throwing  streams  of  cold  water  on  the  heated 
portions;  the  sudden  changes  caused  it  to 
crack. 

Twin  Lakes,  two  very  pretty  pools,  next 
attract  attention  because  of  a  difference  in 
color,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  are  in  close 
apposition  and  are  joined  together  by  a  small 
canal.  One  presents  a  pale  grayish-green  hue 
while  the  other  is  much  darker,  rather  a  bluish 
tint;  the  difference  being  due  undoubtedly  to 
the  greater  depth  of  the  latter.  The  Devil's 
Frying  Pan  is  a  peculiar  formation — about  an 
acre  of  this  travertine  crust,  broken  in  many 
places,  in  which  numerous  hot  springs  are  bub 
bling — deriving  its  name  from  the  constant 
stewing  and  sizzling  of  the  water  through  and 
over  the  crust. 

At  Norris  Geyser  Basin  you  will  meet  your 
first  Geyser  and  become  acquainted  with  what 


174  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

is  perhaps  tKe  most  marvelous  of  the  active 
phenomena  of  this  park.  In  a  sense,  the  Hot 
Springs,  Hot  Pools,  Paint  Pots,  Steam  Vents 
and  Geysers  are  all  alike — the  same  natural 
elements,  water  and  heat,  are  the  principal 
factors — but  how  differently  they  appear  and 
how  differently  these  elements  act  under  the 
varying  conditions.  The  hot  springs  and  their 
outgrowth,  the  terraces,  have  already  been  ex 
plained  and  the  action  of  a  geyser  and  the 
process  of  natural  paint  mixing  will  be,  but 
it  may  be  better  to  leave  these  demonstrations 
until  the  most  perfect  specimens  of  each  are 
met  with  in  the  course  of  this  trip. 

Norris  Geyser  Basin  consists  of  a  vast  area, 
several  hundred  acres  in  extent,  of  what  looks 
like  level  white  sandstone  dotted  all  over  with 
bubbling  hot  pools  and  springs,  with  here  and 
there,  at  varying  intervals,  eruptive  geysers  of 
different  sizes  and  power.  The  surface  layer, 
or  crust  of  the  "formation,"  is  apparently  very 
thin  and  a  board  walk  has  been  laid  over  it 
from  the  hotel  to  the  road  at  the  far  side. 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK       175 

Walking  over  this  you  can  not  help  feeling 
that  the  formation  is  like  an  immense  stewing 
pie  with  a  thin,  crisp  crust.  The  hot  water 
is  boiling  up  under  and  beside  the  boards, 
spirting  up  in  little  jets  in  some  places.  A  cane 
may  easily  be  thrust  through  the  crust  in  spots, 
and  it  is  unsafe  to  step  off  the  boards  except 
under  the  guidance  of  one  familiar  with  local 
conditions.  The  color  of  the  many  pools  is  of 
that  peculiar  shade  difficult  to  say  whether  it  is 
pale  blue  or  pale  green,  and  their  beauty  is  in 
some  instances  enhanced  by  a  border  of  old 
rose,  or  of  deep  orange  hue,  produced  by  the 
deposit  around  the  rim  of  chemical  substances 
or  the  growth  of  algea;  where  copper  and 
iron  salts  are  abundant  in  the  water  the  pool 
margins  and  the  beds  of  the  rivulets  running 
from  them  present  brilliant  dark  green  or  red- 
brown  colors. 

Within  a  few  feet  of  the  board  walk  is  one 
of  the  most  interesting  of  all  the  geysers  in  the 
park — Old  Constant;  at  intervals  of  five  min 
utes  the  eruptions  take  place,  the  water  in  the 


176  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

pool  will  begin  to  show  disturbance,  there  is  an 
appearance  of  boiling  near  the  surface,  and 
suddenly,  a  column  of  water  is  thrown  up  into 
the  air,  the  fountain  action  lasting  about  one 
minute  and  being  followed  by  another  period 
of  quiescence.  The  constancy  with  which  the 
process  is  repeated  explains  the  origin  of  the 
name  given  this  geyser.  Further  on  is  another 
geyser  bearing  the  name  of  the  Minute  Man, 
but  in  this  case,  the  geyser  has  not  lived  up  to 
expectations;  after  many  years  of  a  regular 
course  of  life  it  has  recently  changed  its  habits 
and,  instead  of  acting  at  minute  intervals  it 
now  breaks  forth  at  very  irregular  periods  and 
ejects  but  a  small  stream  of  water  in  compari 
son  with  its  old  record. 

At  the  end  of  the  board  walk  a  series  of 
steps  leads  up  to  the  road  and  in  the  bank, 
just  beside  this  ladder  and  platform  arrange 
ment,  is  the  black  mouth  of  a  dark  cavern  from 
which  steam  is  emitted  with  a  terrific  roaring 
sound  like  the  exhaust  of  a  heavy  railroad 
engine.  In  fact,  the  Black  Growler  is  heard 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK       177 

long  before  it  can  be  seen  and  the  first  impres 
sion  produced  by  the  noise  is  that  there  must 
be  a  train  somewhere  near.  The  Steam  Vent, 
of  which  the  Black  Growler  is  a  perfect  exam 
ple,  is  but  another  type  of  the  general  species 
of  natural  eruptive  forces.  In  the  Hot  Pools 
and  Springs  the  water  is  sent  to  the  surface 
with  but  little  force;  in  the  Geysers,  a  volume 
of  water  is  ejected  forcibly  by  a  sudden  out 
burst  of  accumulated  power;  the  Mud  Vol 
canoes  exhibit  a  constant  or  repeated  explo 
sion  of  force  acting  upon  a  mixture  of  earth 
and  water;  the  Paint  Pots  show  the  ebullition 
of  heat  through  a  clay  mass  of  putty-like  con 
sistency;  and  the  Steam  Vent  is  simply  escap 
ing  force  in  the  form  of  heat  that  has  nothing 
to  resist  it,  there  being  no  water  nor  mud  to 
throw  out. 

On  the  "Formation"  at  Norris  Geyser  Basin 
conditions  change  frequently,  it  is  said  by 
some,  but  there  are  probably  no  very  pro 
nounced  changes  save  over  a  long  period  of 
years.  The  Steam  Vent  of  today  may  be  the 


178  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

exhausted  Geyser  of  some  distant  yesterday, 
the  supply  of  water  having  failed;  a  Geyser 
that  has  been  acting  with  perfect  regularity 
for  numberless  years,  like  the  Minute  Man, 
may  suddenly  change  its  habits  because  of  a 
diminution  of  its  underground  supply  of  water 
or  the  altering  of  heat  forces  beneath  it,  or 
both  factors  playing  a  part ;  a  Geyser  may  be 
come  exhausted,  remain  quiet  for  a  consider 
able  period,  and  then  unexpectedly  resume 
activity;  new  Geysers,  new  Vents,  and  new 
Springs  appear  as  old  ones  disappear  or  be 
come  altered;  and  all  this  is  but  the  eternal 
change  attendant  upon  evolution. 

The  effect  of  walking  across  this  formation 
for  the  first  time  and  of  considering  its  mar 
velous  construction  and  activity  is  indescrib 
able.  Keeping  in  mind  the  plain,  visible,  un- 
controvertible  scientific  facts,  thoughts  will 
dwell  upon  the  character  of  the  invisible  and 
unknown  influence  behind  it  all,  and  it  is  dif 
ficult  to  suppress  entirely  a  superstitious  feel 
ing.  You  may  recall  some  of  the  sermons  that 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        179 

were  popular  a  decade  or  so  ago,  in  which  the 
fiery  furnace  of  Hell  was  so  eloquently  de 
scribed  that  the  odor  of  brimstone  was  almost 
perceptible.  What  would  one  of  those  old- 
time  preachers,  with  his  ideas  of  future  punish 
ment,  think  of  this  region?  Would  it  be  to 
him  an  ocular  demonstration  of  his  theory  of 
subterranean  horrors?  It  must  be  confessed 
there  is  enough  of  the  suggestive  element  pres 
ent  to  justify  him  in  thoughtful  consideration. 
The  air  is  redolent  with  the  odor  of  sulphur, 
the  earth  is  warm  to  the  touch,  there  is  plenty 
of  evidence  of  an  extreme  and  inexhaustible 
supply  of  heat  somewhere  below,  the  region 
round  about  is  arid  and  forbidding  in  appear 
ance,  trees  are  the  mere  ghosts  of  trees  for 
their  foliage  has  been  destroyed  wherever 
stricken  by  the  heat  and  acid  sulphur  fumes; 
in  fact,  the  entire  scene  is  one  of  weird,  mys 
terious  and  unnatural  devastation.  Yellow 
stone  has  been  spoken  of  as  a  Fairyland.  It  is 
that  in  a  sense,  but  not  in  the  same  sense  you 
would  employ  the  term  in  speaking  of 


180  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

Yosemite,  for  instance ;  it  is  rather  a  weirdness, 
a  sense  of  something  unnatural  or  supernat 
ural,  that  is  uppermost. 

The  drive  of  20  miles  from  Norris  to  the 
Lower  Geyser  Basin  (Old  Fountain  Hotel) 
is  through  one  of  the  most  attractive  portions 
of  the  Park.  For  the  first  10  miles  the  road 
runs  parallel  with  the  Gibbon  River  and  for 
half  of  that  distance  between  the  walls  of  the 
Gibbon  Canyon;  characterized  by  many  re 
markably  beautiful  views.  Numerous  bridges 
permit  the  frequent  crossing  of  this  rapidly 
flowing  stream  as  the  road  winds  through  the 
canyon,  occupying  first  one  then  the  other  bank 
of  the  river,  as  necessity  requires.  At  the  end 
of  the  canyon,  after  passing  the  Gibbon  Falls, 
the  road  leads  over  a  long  stretch  of  rolling, 
sandy  country  covered  with  a  dense  growth 
of  lodge-pole  pine.  The  descent  on  the  other 
side  of  the  mountain  is  into  the  valley  of  the 
Firehole  River,  and  one  of  its  tributaries,  Nez 
Perce  Creek,  is  forded  on  the  approach  to  the 
Fountain  Hotel.  All  these  streams  abound  in 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        181 

Eastern   Brook,    Loch   Levin   and   Rainbow 
trout. 

The  chief  attractions  of  the  Lower  Geyser 
Basin  are  the  Mammoth  Paint  Pots,  the  Old 
Fountain  Geyser  and  a  curious  phenomenon  to 
be  observed  at  Firehole  Lake — the  appearance 
of  flames  under  water.  The  Paint  Pots  at  this 
point  vie  in  importance  with  those  to  be  seen 
later  at  Thumb  Station,  on  the  shore  of  Yel 
lowstone  Lake;  at  times  the  colors  seem  less 
vivid  and  the  stewing  less  active.  The  Foun 
tain  Geyser  is  far  less  interesting  now  than 
many  others;  once  noted  for  the  large  quanti 
ties  of  water  thrown  out  and  the  height  to 
which  it  was  thrown,  it  has  in  recent  years 
become  quite  erratic.  Observation  of  flames 
under  the  water  of  Firehole  Lake  depends 
somewhat  upon  atmospheric  conditions  and  to 
some  extent  upon  securing  an  advantageous 
position.  The  visit  of  inspection  is  usually 
made  in  the  early  morning  by  walking  to  the 
western  end  of  the  lake.  The  lake  is  fed  by  a 
deep-seated  spring,  located  near  the  eastern 


182  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

end,  and  the  bubbles  of  hot. air  arising  through 
the  clear  water  tend  to  amalgamate,  like  rain 
drops  coursing  down  a  pane  of  glass,  into  large 
globules.  If  there  is  no  wind  to  disturb  the 
surface  of  the  water,  and  the  sunlight  falls  at 
the  proper  angle  upon  the  submerged  balloon 
of  gas,  the  picture  is  that  of  an  ascending 
flame. 

The  country  between  Fountain  and  the  Old 
Faithful  Inn,  at  the  far  end  of  the  Upper 
Geyser  Basin,  a  distance  of  9  miles,  is  in  real 
ity  a  continuous  area  of  geyser  and  hot  spring 
formation.  It  would  be  superfluous  to  men 
tion  them  all  by  name,  but  a  few  deserve  spe 
cial  consideration.  The  Great  Fountain 
Geyser,  because  of  its  pretty  pool  and  the 
delicate  tracery  of  its  formation;  the  White 
Dome,  an  immense,  dome-shaped  cone;  the 
Pink  Cone,  so-called  because  of  its  color;  and 
Excelsior  Geyser,  now  inactive  but  reputed  to 
have  been  the  largest  geyser  in  the  park.  The 
very  names  —  Prismatic  Lake,  Turquoise 
Spring,  Sunset  Lake,  Rainbow,  Emerald  and 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        183 

Sapphire  Pools,  and  Biscuit  Basin — signify 
the  characteristics  or  attributes  that  have  made 
some  of  the  pools  noteworthy.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  Castle,  Sponge,  Grotto,  Bee-Hive 
and  many  other  geysers.  Those  which  stand 
out  distinctively  enough  to  require  special  con 
sideration  are:  Turquoise  Spring,  Prismatic 
Lake,  Morning  Glory  Pool  and  Old  Faithful 
Geyser. 

The  Morning  Glory,  if  seen  under  favorable 
circumstances,  commands  admiration.  The 
circumference  of  the  pool  is  marked  by  in 
dentations  of  such  character  as  to  suggest,  to 
gether  with  the  convolvulus  formation  of  the 
depth,  the  open  morning  glory  and,  in  the 
bright  light  of  a  clear  day  the  pronounced  blue 
of  the  deep  central  portion  fades  off  gradually 
into  a  pale  green  blue  of  the  shallower  water 
under  the  ledges  of  the  marginal  crust.  If 
the  day  chances  to  be  a  cold  one  and  condensed 
steam  clouds  hang  over  these  springs  and  pools 
the  color  effect  is  decidedly  marred  and  the 
many  visitors  on  such  days  get  the  idea  that 


184  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

they  have  been  misinformed  by  friends  and 
lecturers  as  to  the  beauty  of  the  color  scheme. 
It  is  true  that  some  picture  postcards  and  some 
lantern  slides  exhibited  have  grossly  exag 
gerated  the  color  of  these  waters  as  well  as  the 
balance  of  the  scenery,  but  it  is  equally  true 
that  under  proper  conditions  of  light  and  tem 
perature  the  springs  and  pools  present  a  series 
of  fascinating  colors.  Two  of  the  most  beau 
tiful  things  to  be  seen  in  Yellowstone  Park 
are  the  Turquoise  Spring  and  Prismatic  Lake. 
There  is  no  possibility  of  exaggerating  the 
beauty  or  the  perfection  of  coloring  in  either 
of  these  bodies  of  water.  The  former  is  a 
large  pool  of  deep  water  with  a  rich  turquoise 
color  and  a  border  of  old  rose.  Prismatic 
Lake  is  an  expansive  sheet  of  water,  rather 
shallow,  I  believe,  at  least  it  is  for  some  dis 
tance  from  its  shore  line,  with  a  most  remark 
able  play  of  colors  upon  its  surface,  really 
representing  most  of  the  tints  of  the  spectrum. 
So  intense  are  some  of  these  colors  that  as  the 
wind  blows  the  steam  clouds  over  the  surface, 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK       185 

and  the  color  is  reflected  back  into  these  clouds, 
the  steam  itself  appears  to  be  also  colored. 

Old  Faithful  is  all  that  its  name  implies. 
Mr.  Edward  Frank  Allen,  the  editor  of 
TRAVEL,  has  said  of  it:  "Other  geysers  may 
be  more  powerful,  others  may  throw  their  water 
higher,  others  may  have  more  beautiful  craters, 
but  Old  Faithful  has  some  of  each  of  these 
qualities  and,  in  addition,  it  plays  often  and 
with  regularity.  It  had  the  honor  of  welcom 
ing  the  first  explorer,  and  never  since  that  day 
has  it  failed  any  tourist  that  cared  to  look  at 
it."  With  unfailing  regularity,  almost  the 
precision  of  clock  work,  the  eruptions  of  this 
geyser  recur  at  intervals  of  seventy  minutes 
and  this  rhythmic  repetition  has  probably  per 
sisted  for  many  centuries.  Whether  seen  in 
action  at  midday,  in  the  late  afternoon  when 
the  rays  of  a  setting  sun  make  rainbows  in  its 
cloud  of  mist,  or  in  the  light  of  a  full  moon, 
it  is  an  interesting  and  fascinating  sight.  But 
it  is  most  effective  perhaps  at  night,  when 
under  the  added  charm  of  moonlight  and  mys- 


186  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

tery,  the  peculiar  romance  of  the  performance 
harmonizes  so  perfectly  with  the  weird  sur 
roundings. 

The  nature  and  activities  of  Hot  Springs, 
Hot  Pools,  Steam  Vents,  Mud  Volcanoes, 
Paint  Pots,  and  Terrace  Formations  have 
been  explained  as  evidences  of  different  de 
grees  of  subterranean  heat  acting  upon  dif 
ferent  kinds  and  sources  of  subterranean  water 
supplies  under  varying  conditions,  and  the 
belief  stated  that  geysers  belong  also  to  this 
group  of  phenomena.  The  only  one  of  these 
performances  that  is  at  all  difficult  to  compre 
hend  is  the  geyser  action,  and  even  scientists 
have  not  been  entirely  in  accord  in  their  theo 
retic  explanations  of  this.  It  would  be  con 
fusing  to  dwell  upon  the  slight  differences  of 
opinion  existing  among  geologists  concerning 
the  exact  modus  operandi  of  a  geyser  so,  for 
the  sake  of  clearness  as  well  as  brevity,  let  us 
consider  in  the  simplest  terms  the  most  gen 
erally  accepted  theory  of  the  construction  and 
action  of  these  marvels  of  nature,  of  which 


By  Haynes,  St.  Paul. 


OLD  FAITHFUL  GFA'SER 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        187 

Old  Faithful  is  the  most  perfect  of  the  world's 
known  examples. 

In  the  first  place,  there  are  certain  charac 
teristics  essential  to  all  geysers.  Almost  the 
first  noticeable  thing  on  approaching  a  geyser 
basin  is  that  it  is  composed  of  a  different  sub 
stance  from  that  which  made  up  the  Terrace 
Formations.  In  the  latter  case  the  basic  sub 
stance  was  a  soft,  chalky  white  limestone; 
whereas  the  geyser  basic  formation  is  a  hard, 
flint-like  greyish  substance.  Instead  of  soft 
limestone  it  consists  of  Silicon,  the  chemical 
basis  of  sand.  It  is  essential  that  it  should  be 
a  hard,  resistant  substance  because  the  geyser 
wall  must  sustain  a  strain  of  great  force. 
Nearly  all  geysers  have  a  cone-shaped  projec 
tion  above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  with  a 
crater  opening  at  the  top.  It  is  not  necessary 
that  the  cone  should  be  of  any  definite  size  nor 
that  it  should  be  exactly  conical;  there  are 
geysers  with  large  open  mouths  and  crater  rims 
that  are  not  much  raised  above  the  surface,  but, 
even  they  comply  with  the  general  rule,  if  ex- 


188  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

amined  closely,  and  vary  only  in  the  size  of 
the  "cone"  rather  than  in  its  principle.  The 
third,  and  final,  essential  is  a  tube  or  set  of 
tubular  prolongations  extending  down  into  the 
earth.  These  tubes  receive  the  water  supply 
of  the  geyser  and  reach  down  to  the  source  of 
heat  that  produces  the  geyser  action. 

According  to  the  Bunsen  theory,  the  tubes 
receive  their  water  supply  from  some  subter 
ranean  source  and  the  action  of  heat  upon  the 
deep  portions  of  these  tubes  causes  the  water 
to  boil  at  the  point  acted  upon.  The  boiling 
point  of  water  is  higher  below  the  earth's  sur 
face  than  at  or  above  that  level,  increasing  with 
the  greater  depth.  As  the  water  reaches  its 
boiling  point,  the  steam  formed  attempts  to 
escape  through  the  upper  layers  of  cooler 
water.  Though  it  loses  little  or  nothing  in 
heat  quality  as  it  rises,  because  of  the  steadily 
diminishing  boiling  point,  much  of  it  is  ab 
sorbed  until,  in  fact,  the  upper  layers  be 
come  saturated.  Then,  the  continually  forming 
steam  begins  to  accumulate  below.  As  its 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        189 

power  increases,  it  endeavors  to  lift  the  weight 
of  water  above  it,  just  as  steam  in  an  engine 
boiler  affects  the  safety  valve,  and  it  ultimately 
begins  to  force  some  of  the  water  from  the 
mouth  of  the  crater.  At  first  there  is  a  slow 
outflow,  but  as  this  escaping  water  only  dimin 
ishes  the  weight  of  the  column  of  water  in  the 
tube,  and  the  power  is  increasing,  the  latter 
gains  impetus  and  is  soon  able  to  force  the 
remaining  water  out  in  a  jet  that  may  leap  a 
considerable  distance  into  the  air.  Thus  Old 
Faithful,  in  the  beginning  of  an  eruption, 
throws  its  water  only  three  or  four  feet,  but 
soon  it  spouts  more  actively  and  ultimately 
reaches  a  height  of  150  feet. 

In  the  case  of  geysers  like  Old  Faithful, 
whose  eruptions  recur  with  regular  periodicity, 
the  existence  of  an  underground  source  of 
water  supply,  perhaps  a  lake,  must  be  as 
sumed,  with  an  opening  of  definite  size  into 
the  geyser  tube  to  permit  the  intake  of  the 
required  amount  of  water  within  a  definite 
time,  so  that  for  thousands  of  years  it  has  dis- 


190  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

charged  250,000  gallons  of  water  approxi 
mately  every  hour.  The  smaller  and  more 
irregularly  acting  geysers  have  a  less  constant 
source  of  supply,  being  dependent  probably 
upon  springs  or  upon  seepage  from  the  surface 
through  cracks  into  the  tubes. 

Not  the  least  interesting  feature  of  a  trip 
through  Yellowstone  Park  is  the  native  wild 
animal  life  and  it  is  a  subject  for  congratula 
tion  that  the  United  States  has  adopted  such 
active  measures  here,  and  in  the  other  national 
parks,  to  preserve  and  protect  the  animals  and 
birds  unmolested.  The  already  large  herd  of 
buffalo  is  rapidly  increasing  with  each  passing 
year.  This  noble  animal,  that  once  roamed  in 
countless  thousands  over  our  western  prairies, 
was  threatened  with  extinction  but  a  few  years 
ago.  The  Deer  and  Elk  are  numbered  by  the 
thousand  and  even  the  hurried  tourist  in  his 
rapid  course  through  the  park  is  certain  to  see 
one  or  more  daily.  Black  and  Brown  Bears, 
occasionally  the  Grizzly,  will  be  seen  in  the 
region  of  Old  Faithful  Inn  or  the  Lake  Hotel; 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        191 

the  former  have  become  to  some  extent  scav 
engers  of  the  wood  and  haunt  the  garbage  pile 
near  the  large  hostelries.  Some  of  them  are 
sufficiently  tame  to  approach  and  take  sugar 
or  other  edibles  from  your  hand.  Now  and 
then  an  aggressive  marauder  of  the  species 
will  prove  less  docile  and  it  is  always  danger 
ous  to  get  between  a  mother  bear  and  her  cubs. 
Usually  there  is  a  guard  on  duty  at  the  sites 
most  frequented  by  the  bears,  to  protect  the 
over  inquisitive  tourist,  but  it  is  well  to  re 
member  the  protective  care  of  the  mother  for 
her  young  in  case  you  unexpectedly  encounter 
a  bear  along  any  of  the  paths  or  roads  of  these 
mountains. 

The  birds  of  the  Park  embrace  the  Osprey, 
chiefly  seen  about  the  high  peaks;  Pelicans, 
Sea  Gulls,  Geese  and  Ducks,  about  Lakes 
Yellowstone,  Lewis  and  Shoshone;  Grouse, 
Pheasants,  Blue  Jays,  Robins,  Magpies, 
Larks  and  Blackbirds. 

Fish  abound  in  all  the  streams  and  can  actu 
ally  be  seen  from  the  passing  coach  in  Yellow- 


192  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

stone  River.     In  Clear  Creek  and  Columbine 
Creek,  two  tributaries  of  Lake  Yellowstone, 
trout  are  so  thick  and  the  water  so  clear  that 
you  can  stand  on  the  bank  and  watch  every 
maneuver  of  the  fish  as  he  plays  for  the  fly  or 
bait  cast  before  him.    Fishing  is  the  only  form 
of  hunting  permitted  within  the  park  pre 
cincts;  the  shooting  or  trapping  of  birds  or 
animals  is  strictly  forbidden.    The  Fish  Com 
mission  has  stocked  Lake  Yellowstone  and  its 
neighboring  creeks  with  yellow  speckled  cut 
throat  trout  and  the  mere  tyro  can  catch  his 
allowance  in  those  streams  any  day  within  two 
hours.   The  Madison  River  and  other  streams 
on  the  western  side  of  the  Park  produce  the 
rainbow  and  Loch  Levin  varieties  of  trout; 
rather  better  sport  because  they  are  gamer 
fighters.     Big  game  may  be  hunted  in  the 
mountains  bordering  upon  the  Park  and  there 
are  several  popular  resorts,  such  as  Sheffield's 
to  the  south,  in  the  Jackson  Hole  country,  that 
are  well  known  to  the  sportsmen. 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        193 

In  the  course  of  the  drive  from  Upper  Gey 
ser  Basin  to  the  Thumb  of  Yellowstone  Lake 
(the  name  Thumb  having  been  given  to  this 
portion  of  the  Lake  because  the  conformation 
of  the  shore  line  here  resembles  the  thumb  in 
its  relation  to  the  hand,  as  represented  by  the 
main  body  of  the  Lake)  the  Continental 
Divide  has  to  be  crossed  twice,  the  altitude  in 
each  instance  being  something  over  8200  feet. 
The  water  from  some  small  lakes  in  this  region 
flows  off  in  rivulets  to  the  eastward  and  others 
to  the  westward  slope,  while  a  few,  of  which 
Lake  Isa  is  an  example,  may  in  the  springtime 
drain  in  both  directions,  part  of  the  water  find 
ing  its  way  to  the  broad  Atlantic  while  another 
portion  can  be  traced  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Lake  Isa  can  be  seen  from  the  road  in  passing 
and  in  early  summer  is  covered  with  water 
lilies. 

The  first  part  of  this  drive  is  beside  the 
Firehole  River  and  a  stop  is  usually  made 
just  a  few  miles  from  Old  Faithful  to  see  the 
Keppler  Cascades,  from  a  platform  that  has 


194  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

been  constructed  out  over  the  stream.  There 
are  numerous  lakes  within  the  domain  of 
Yellowstone  Park  and  the  two  largest,  Lake 
Shoshone  and  Lake  Yellowstone,  are  each  in 
turn  to  be  seen  from  high  points  of  the  road 
on  this  day's  riding.  The  former  is  viewed 
from  the  top  of  the  divide  and  though  it  is 
twenty  miles  distant  it  makes  a  charming  pic 
ture,  so  wonderful  is  its  setting  in  the  high 
mountains.  Yellowstone  Lake  is  a  beautiful 
body  of  water  and  many  are  tempted  to  leave 
the  coaches  at  Thumb  Station  and  to  break  the 
monotony  of  the  journey  by  a  boat  trip  across 
the  Lake  to  the  Yellowstone  Lake  Hotel.  It 
is  a  pleasant  sixteen  miles'  sail;  as  against  a 
nineteen  mile  ride  around  the  head  of  the  Lake, 
over  a  road  that  presents  few  points  of  special 
interest  and  is  often  rather  dusty. 

The  Lake  shore  at  Thumb  has  a  diversified 
character  and  presents  several  special  features. 
In  the  first  place,  the  Paint  Pots  at  this  point 
appear  to  be  more  active  than  those  observed 
at  Fountain.  In  an  area  of  perhaps  100  feet 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        195 

square  is  a  mass  cf  so-called  paint,  a  clay  sub 
stance  of  about  the  consistency  of  a  well-mixed 
white  lead,  or  a  well-kneaded  dough,  and  the 
entire  bed  is  in  constant  motion,  heaving  mildly 
like  the  billows  of  the  sea.  In  the  bright  sun 
light  the  paint  varies  in  color  from  drab  to  a 
pale  rose  tint.  Every  few  seconds,  from  some 
part  of  the  bed,  a  small  mass  will  be  thrown 
up  into  the  air  to  the  height  of  two  or  three 
feet  by  the  ebullitionary  force  from  below. 
The  term  "paint  pots"  was  a  well  chosen  simile, 
for  the  mass  strikingly  resembles  a  very  thick 
paint  and  the  action  is  typical  of  the  contents 
being  mixed  or  stirred  by  some  unseen  power. 
Between  the  paint  pot  enclosure  and  the  shore 
there  are  a  few  small  springs  whose  outflow 
spreads  over  the  intervening  soil,  on  its  way 
to  the  Lake,  depositing  its  chemical  substances 
and  encouraging  the  growth  of  algeous  matter ; 
producing  a  bit  of  prettily  colored  beach 
similar  to  the  formation  on  the  banks  of  the 
Firehole  River.  Scarcely  a  hundred  yards 
away  and  directly  on  the  edge  of  the  Lake 


196  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

is  an  extinct  geyser  mound,  called  the  Fishing 
Cone.  While  it  is  no  longer  subject  to  erup 
tions,  it  still  contains  steaming  hot  water  and 
it  is  a  fact  that  standing  beside  it  you  may 
catch  a  trout  in  the  lake  and,  swinging  about, 
dip  your  fish  into  the  cone  crater  and,  after 
a  few  moments,  remove  the  cooked  fish  from 
your  hook. 

The  road  turns  abruptly  at  Thumb  and  runs 
in  a  northerly  direction,  for  the  return  towards 
Gardiner  commences  at  this  point.  The  shore 
of  the  Lake  is  followed  for  about  five  miles  and 
then,  as  another  shoulder  of  the  mountain  has 
to  be  crossed,  the  climb  back  to  an  altitude  of 
8000  feet  must  be  made.  There  are  many 
pretty  views  of  the  neighboring  mountains  and 
glimpses  of  the  Lake  through  vistas  in  the 
forest.  The  trees  are  principally  Indian  or 
Lodge-pole  Pine,  growing  in  dense  forest 
formation. 

Of  all  the  places  in  the  park  that  might 
entice  one  to  stop  over  for  a  time,  none  seems 
more  attractive  than  the  hotel  at  Lake  Station. 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        197 

Here  is  an  excellent  hotel,  of  the  old  continen 
tal  style  of  architecture,  on  the  edge  of  a  beau 
tiful  lake  dotted  with  islands  and  surrounded 
by  snow-capped  mountains.  Yellowstone  Lake 
is  the  highest  body  of  water  of  its  size  in  the 
world;  it  has  an  elevation  of  7700  feet,  is  ten 
miles  wide  and  nearly  thirty  miles  long.  The 
possibility  of  boating  upon  this  Lake,  of  ex 
plorations  into  the  numerous  creeks  that  sup 
ply  it,  of  tramps  around  its  shore  line  by  trails, 
the  fishing  in  its  waters,  and  the  marvelously 
beautiful  views  obtainable  from  any  point  in 
the  vicinity  make  this  a  spot  of  unending  de 
lights.  And,  even  more,  it  happens  to  be  a 
good  central  point  from  which  to  make  ex 
cursions  to  interesting  regions  outside  the 
usual  tour  of  the  park.  For  instance,  from 
here  you  can  make  the  trip  to  the  Jackson 
Hole  country  and,  if  the  time  can  be  spared, 
this  could  certainly  be  included  in  any  trip 
through  Yellowstone,  From  Lake  to  Thumb 
and  then  south,  the  road  runs  beside  the  Lewis 
River  and  Lake  to  Jackson  Lake,  through  one 


198  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

of  the  most  beautiful  regions  imaginable.  The 
c^en  fields  and  forest  floors  are  covered  by 
acres  of  the  most  wonderful  flowers ;  extensive 
patches  of  Paint  Brush  of  the  deepest  red,  For 
get-me-nots,  Lupine,  Bluebells,  and  many 
others  according  to  the  season.  And  then,  ar 
rived  at  Sheffield's  Lodge,  outside  the  park,  to 
rest  at  the  foot  of  the  Grand  Tetons ;  that  of  it 
self  is  worth  all  of  the  time  and  money  ex 
pended  upon  the  trip.  To  camp  anywhere  in 
this  portion  of  the  park  is  a  supreme  delight. 

The  short  ride  from  Lake  Station  to  the 
Grand  Canyon  of  the  Yellowstone  is  also 
through  a  fine  country.  There  are  very  few 
curiosities  to  attract  attention;  perhaps  only 
two  that  require  mention.  The  Mud  Volcano 
is  considered  by  many  to  be  one  of  the  most 
curious  and  interesting  of  the  phenomena  in 
the  park.  It  may  be  best  described  by  com 
parison  with  an  immense  bowl  hollowed  out 
of  the  hillside,  partially  filled  with  black  mud 
and  having  a  large  opening  in  the  distal  side 
near  the  bottom.  This  opening  is  in  fact  the 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        199 

mouth  of  a  steam  vent  and  as  the  steam  and 
hot  water  is  spasmodically  injected  into  the 
bowl,  the  mud  is  thrown  up  and  towards  its 
opposite  side ;  naturally,  it  slops  back  and  this 
performance  is  constantly  repeated.  The 
Grotto  Spring,  or  the  Dragon's  Mouth,  as  it 
is  more  appropriately  named,  is  a  fissure  in  the 
granite  rock  which  has  been  rendered  pic 
turesque  by  the  green  coloring  of  the  rocks 
surrounding  it  and  from  which  there  issues  at 
brief  intervals  a  small  jet  of  hot  water  and 
steam.  The  water  comes  from  a  small  spring 
in  the  rocks  and  is  ejected  by  the  steam  in  the 
form  of  a  heated  spray.  You  can  approach 
closely  and  look  into  the  grotto  at  the  risk  of 
nothing  worse  than  a  sprinkling  of  hot  water. 
It  requires  no  great  stretch  of  the  imagina 
tion  to  conceive  of  it  as  a  dragon. 

The  ride  across  Hayden  Valley,  which  is  a 
charming  meadow  plateau,  and  beside  the 
Yellowstone  River  is  one  continuous  delight. 
The  road  follows  the  circuitous  route  of  the 
river,  the  water  of  which  is  as  clear  as  crystal, 


200  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

and  even  from  the  coach  you  can  see  the  trout 
swimming  gracefully  or  splashing  about  in 
their  efforts  to  catch  flies  or  water  bugs. 
When  the  Chittenden  Bridge  is  reached,  about 
where  the  cascades  of  the  river  begin,  the  main 
road  is  left  for  a  visit  to  Artist's  Point,  so 
that  you  may  have  your  first  view  of  the  great 
Yellowstone  Falls  from  that  most  impressive 
point.  It  was  this  spot  that  Thomas  Moran 
chose  from  which  to  paint  his  celebrated  pic 
ture  that  now  hangs  in  the  Capitol  building 
at  \Vashington.  In  a  pamphlet  recently  issued 
by  the  Government  is  the  following  descrip 
tion  of  the  view  from  Inspiration  Point,  but 
it  serves  equally  well  to  illustrate  the  beauty 
of  the  artist's  point  of  view:  "Looking  a 
thousand  feet  almost  vertically  down  upon  the 
foaming  Yellowstone  River,  and  southward 
three  miles  to  the  great  Falls,  the  hushed  ob 
server  sees  spread  before  him  the  most  glori 
ous  kaleidoscope  of  color  he  will  ever  see  in 
nature.  The  steep  slopes  are  inconceivably 
carved  by  the  frost  and  erosion  of  the  ages. 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK       201 

Sometimes  they  lay  in  straight  lines  at  easy 
angles,  from  which  jut  high  rocky  promi 
nences.  Sometimes  they  seem  carved  from  the 
side  walls.  Here  and  there  jagged,  rocky 
needles  rise  perpendicularly  like  Gothic  spires. 
And  the  whole  is  colored  perfectly  and  vividly 
as  the  field  of  a  kaleidoscope,  streaked  and 
spotted  and  stratified  in  every  shade  from  the 
deepest  orange  to  the  faintest  lemon,  from 
deep  carmine  through  all  the  brick  reds  to  the 
softest  pinks,  from  black  through  all  the  grays 
and  pearls  to  glistening  white.  The  greens 
are  furnished  by  the  dark  pines  above,  the 
lighter  shades  a  growth  caught  here  and  there 
in  soft  masses  on  the  gentler  slopes  and  the 
foaming  greens  of  the  plunging  river  so  far 
below.  The  blues,  ever  changing,  are  found 
in  the  dome  of  the  sky  overhead." 

General  Chittenden,  who  probably  did  more 
than  any  other  one  man  to  make  the  park 
what  it  is  today  and  whose  book,  entitled, 
"Yellowstone  National  Park,"  is  a  masterpiece 
of  descriptive  literature,  says  of  the  Canyon: 


202  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

"There  are  three  distinct  features  which  unite 
their  peculiar  glories  to  enhance  the  beauty 
of  this  Canyon.  These  are  the  Canyon  itself, 
the  waterfall  at  its  head,  and  the  river  below." 
It  is  the  volcanic  rock  through  which  the 
river  has  cut  its  way  that  gives  the  Grand 
Canyon  its  distinctive  character.  The  hue  has 
no  existence  which  cannot  be  found  there. 
"Hung  up  and  let  down  and  spread  abroad 
are  all  the  colors  of  the  land,  sea  and  sky/' 
says  Talmadge,  without  hyperbole.  From  the 
dark,  forest-bordered  brink,  the  sides  descend 
for  the  most  part  with  the  natural  slope  of  the 
loose  rock,  but  frequently  broken  by  vertical 
ledges  and  isolated  pinnacles,  which  give  a  cas 
tellated  and  romantic  air  to  the  whole.  Eagles 
build  their  nests  here,  and  soar  midway  through 
the  vast  chasm,  far  below  the  beholder.  The 
more  prominent  of  the  pro j  ecting  ledges  cause 
many  turns  in  the  course  of  the  Canyon,  and 
give  numerous  vantage  places  for  sight-seeing. 
Lookout  Point  is  one  of  these,  half  a  mile  be 
low  the  Lower  Falls.  Inspiration  Point,  some 


Photo  by  Gijl'nrd.  Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  National 
Park  Service. 


GRAND  CANYON  AND  GREAT  FALLS  OF  THE  YELLOWSTONE 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK        203 

two  miles  farther  down,  is  another.  The  gor 
geous  coloring  of  the  Canyon  walls  does  not 
extend  through  its  entire  length  of  twenty 
miles.  In  the  lower  portion,  the  forests  have 
crept  well  down  to  the  water's  edge.  Still,  it 
is  everywhere  an  extremely  beautiful  and  im 
pressive  sight.  Along  the  bottom  of  the  Can 
yon,  numerous  steam  vents  can  be  seen,  one 
of  which,  it  is  said,  exhibits  geyseric  action. 

The  Lower  Falls  of  the  Yellowstone  must 
be  placed  in  the  front  rank  of  similar  phe 
nomena.  It  carries  not  one-twentieth  of  the 
water  of  Niagara,  but  Niagara  is  in  no  single 
part  so  beautiful.  Its  descent  is  very 
regular,  slightly  broken  by  a  point  of 
rock  on  the  right  bank.  A  third  of 
the  Fall  is  hidden  behind  the  vast  cloud  of 
spray  which  forever  conceals  the  mad  play 
of  the  waters  beneath ;  but  the  mighty  turmoil 
of  that  recess  in  the  rocks  may  be  judged  from 
the  deep-toned  thunder  which  rises  in  ceaseless 
cadence  and  jars  the  air  for  miles  around. 


204  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

To  many  visitors,  the  stream  far  down  in  the 
bottom  of  the  Canyon  is  the  crowning  beauty 
of  the  whole  scene.  It  is  so  distant  that  its 
rapid  course  is  apparently  diminished  to  the 
gentlest  movement,  and  its  continuous  roar  to 
the  subdued  murmur  of  the  pine  forests.  Its 
winding,  hide-and-seek  course,  its  dark  surface 
where  the  shadows  cover  it,  its  bright  limpid 
green  under  the  play  of  the  sunlight,  its  ever 
recurring  foamy  white  patches,  and  particu 
larly  its  display  of  life  where  all  around  is 
silent  and  motionless,  make  it  a  thing  of  en 
trancing  beauty  to  all  who  behold  it. 

It  is  not  strange  that  this  Canyon  has  been 
a  theme  for  writer,  painter  and  photographer 
from  the  day  of  its  discovery  to  the  present 
time.  But  at  first  thought  it  is  strange  that  all 
attempts  to  portray  its  beauties  are  less  satis 
factory  than  those  pertaining  to  any  other  fea 
ture  of  the  park.  The  artist  Moran  acknowl 
edged  that  "its  beautiful  tints  were  beyond  the 
reach  of  human  art."  And  General  Sherman 
said  of  this  artist's  celebrated  effort,  "The 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK       205 

painting  by  Moran  in  the  Capitol  is  good,  but 
painting  and  words  are  unequal  to  the  sub 
ject."  "In  photography,  the  number  of  pic 
tures  by  professional  and  amateur  artists  that 
have  been  made  of  this  Canyon  is  prodigious, 
but  photography  can  only  produce  the  form ;  it 
is  powerless  in  the  presence  of  such  an  array  of 
colors  as  here  exists."  The  paragraph  just 
quoted  was  written  before  the  day  when  the 
photographing  of  objects  in  their  true  colors 
had  become  an  accomplished  fact.  Now  this 
marvelous  scene  has  been  taken  by  natural 
color  photography;  every  shade  of  color  per 
manently  fixed  on  the  photographic  plate 
exactly  as  they  appeared  to  the  eye  of  the 
observer. 

In  refraining  from  an  attempt  to  give  a 
description  of  the  Canyon  I  have  been  will 
ing  to  join  Folsom,  who  first  wrote  of  it,  that 
"so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  language  is  en 
tirely  inadequate  to  convey  a  just  concep 
tion  of  the  awful  grandeur  and  sublimity 
of  this  masterpiece  of  nature's  handiwork." 


206  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

Many  of  the  published  descriptions  have  been 
gross  exaggerations,  both  as  regards  the  color 
of  the  rocks  and  general  beauty  of  the  Canyon. 
Those  quoted  here  seem  to  be  entirely  fair  and 
to  present  about  as  accurate  a  word  picture  as 
can  be  honestly  composed.  This  Canyon  is 
another  spot  in  Yellowstone  Park  where  one 
might  profitably  spend  an  indefinite  vacation 
period.  The  Hot  Spring  region  and  the  Gey 
ser  Basins  present  unusual  and  interesting  phe 
nomena  but  such  freak  features  of  nature, 
while  impressive  in  their  beauty  or  marvelous 
activities,  do  not  carry  the  appeal  that  makes 
one  desire  to  linger  in  the  vicinity.  At  the  Can 
yon  it  is  different  and  the  effect  is  noticeable 
upon  the  great  majority  of  tourists.  The  crea 
ture  comforts  offered  by  one  of  the  best  hotels 
in  the  world  (and  the  establishment  of  such 
perfect  hotel  conditions  in  such  a  place  is  not 
the  least  of  the  park  wonders) ,  the  stimulating 
climatic  influence  of  the  high  altitude,  the  tran 
quil,  peaceful  charm  of  the  upper  portion  of 
the  River,  the  majesty  and  dignity  of  the  cata- 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK       207 

ract,  the  colorful  beauty  of  the  Canyon  walls 
under  changing  light  at  different  hours  of  the 
day,  the  restful,  health-giving  delight  of  the 
whole,  produce  a  sense  of  contentment  and 
happiness  almost  incomprehensible. 

Exit  from  Fairyland,  as  exemplified  in 
Yellowstone  Park,  may  be  made  either  by  re 
turning  from  this  point  to  Gardiner,  the  point 
of  entrance  used  in  this  description,  or  by  way 
of  Cody,  on  the  eastern  boundary.  If  the  first 
way  be  chosen,  it  is  well  to  take  the  trip  over 
Mt.  Washburn ;  this  will  be  particularly  worth 
while  if  you  happen  to  be  there  in  the  latter 
part  of  July,  when  the  wild  flowers  are  in 
perfection  of  bloom.  Many  will  prefer,  how 
ever,  going  out  by  the  Cody  route.  The 
climax  of  a  Park  trip  having  been  reached  at 
the  Canyon,  the  last  day's  journey  in  going 
out  by  Gardiner,  is  a  gradual  letting  down 
once  more  to  the  ordinary  fact  of  life.  The 
Cody  route,  on  the  other  hand,  still  holds  some 
thrills  even  for  the  satisfied  traveler.  It  is  not 
a  matter  for  comparison;  it  is  simply  different 


208  TOUR  OF  AMERICA'S  NATIONAL  PARKS 

from  anything  else  yet  seen.  The  road  is  over 
Sylvan  Pass  and  through  Shoshone  Canyon 
and  every  mile  of  it  is  beautiful.  Leaving 
the  main  road,  between  the  Canyon  and  the 
Lake,  the  way  is  first  through  a  mountain 
meadow  land  and  then  climbs  to  an  altitude  of 
9500  feet  on  the  crest  of  the  ridge.  Sylvan 
Lake  is  passed,  reluctantly,  for  you  would  nat 
urally  desire  to  tarry  in  the  vicinity  of  such 
a  retreat,  and  then  the  road  winds  down  again 
into  the  Canyon  of  the  Shoshone  River. 

The  upper  portion  of  the  Shoshone  Canyon 
is  walled  in  by  red  sandstone  rocks  that  time 
and  the  elements  have  played  queer  pranks 
with.  For  a  distance  of  10  miles  the  guide  is 
kept  busy  pointing  out  to  you  fancied  resem 
blances  in  the  rocks  to  well  known  or  historic 
characters,  or  to  the  commoner  animals.  The 
hunting  lodge  of  the  late  "Buffalo  Bill,"  after 
whom  the  city  of  Cody  is  named,  is  passed 
and  the  lower  part  of  the  canyon  is  found  to 
be  a  wild,  rugged  granite  walled  gorge.  An 
artificial  lake  has  been  formed  by  the  construe- 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK       209 

tion  of  a  dam  in  the  river,  a  lake  having  a 
surface  of  10  square  miles  and  a  depth,  at  some 
points,  of  325  feet,  so  you  can  imagine  the  vast 
quantity  of  water  held  in  reserve  for  irrigation 
purposes.  The  ride  through  this  canyon  and 
on  to  Cody  is  thrillingly  beautiful. 

Those  who  enter  the  Park  from  the  east, 
at  Cody,  follow  the  same  circle  trip  but  visit 
the  places  in  different  order ;  that  is,  they  spend 
the  first  day  at  the  Canyon  of  the  Yellow 
stone,  the  second  on  the  way  to  Mammoth  Hot 
Springs,  and  then  proceed  as  described  for  the 
trip  from  that  point  around  to  Yellowstone 
Lake  Station.  Likewise,  those  entering  from 
the  west,  at  Yellowstone  Station,  make  their 
visit  to  the  Lower  Geyser  Basin  first  and  then 
proceed  around  the  circle,  taking  Old  Faithful, 
Yellowstone  Lake,  the  Canyon  and  so  forth  to 
Mammoth  Hot  Springs  and  out  again  at 
Yellowstone. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


LD  21-100m-7,'52(A2528sl6)476 


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